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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 124 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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. degree — an amount
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. file — a tool
  7. file — a document
  8. cell — in biology
  9. snap — to click
  10. swing — to play on
  11. file — a line of people
  12. cell — a phone
  13. degree — temperature
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. swing — music
  16. bore — to drill
  17. rule — government
  18. swing — in golf
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. bore — to tire
  22. rule — a law
  23. degree — from a university
  24. coach — a trainer

Multiple-meaning words list

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

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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