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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. row — a line
  4. field — farmland
  5. degree — an amount
  6. snap — to click
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. season — of the year
  10. row — to paddle
  11. tube — the underground
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. season — in sport
  14. ball — a great time
  15. tube — a container
  16. ball — a dance
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. degree — from a university
  20. field — a subject
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. degree — temperature
  24. field — for sport

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