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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. When will it ________________ you to start?
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. snap — to click
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. degree — temperature
  5. suit — clothes
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. fall — to drop
  8. suit — in cards
  9. face — to confront
  10. fall — to drop
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. ball — a dance
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wound — an injury
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. face — part of the head
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. fall — the season
  21. suit — to fit
  22. ball — a great time
  23. face — to point toward
  24. degree — from a university

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