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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. degree — from a university
  3. ball — a dance
  4. degree — temperature
  5. chip — to eat
  6. mug — a cup
  7. bound — certain
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. bound — obliged
  10. snap — to click
  11. last — finally
  12. chip — for betting
  13. last — final
  14. last — to go on
  15. mug — a face
  16. ball — a great time
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. degree — an amount
  20. bound — tied together
  21. mug — to rob
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. patient — a sick person

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