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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. ball — a dance
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. mine — for digging
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. snap — to click
  7. staff — employees
  8. degree — temperature
  9. face — to point toward
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. ball — a great time
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. degree — from a university
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. degree — an amount
  16. staff — employees
  17. dip — to sink
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. face — part of the head
  20. staff — a stick
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. bulb — for light
  23. bulb — for light
  24. face — to confront

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com