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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 120 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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. ball — a great time
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. stand — to bear
  6. fall — to drop
  7. mate — a partner
  8. club — for golf
  9. fall — the season
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. degree — from a university
  12. degree — an amount
  13. fall — to drop
  14. club — for dancing
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. mate — a friend
  17. ball — a dance
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. club — a group
  20. fork — in a road
  21. degree — temperature
  22. mate — to breed
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. stand — on your feet

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