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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. degree — an amount
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. kick — in football
  5. wind — moving air
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. degree — from a university
  10. chip — for betting
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. fall — to drop
  14. snap — to click
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. degree — temperature
  17. fall — to drop
  18. fall — the season
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. chip — to eat
  21. cell — a phone
  22. wind — moving air
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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