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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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. degree — temperature
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. spring — a coil
  7. bat — the animal
  8. saw — the tool
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. spring — the season
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. band — a ring
  13. cap — a lid
  14. degree — from a university
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. spring — of water
  18. cap — of ice
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. degree — an amount
  21. band — a music group
  22. cap — a hat
  23. saw — the tool
  24. snap — to click

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