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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. degree — from a university
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. file — a line of people
  6. snap — to click
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. degree — temperature
  9. rush — hurry
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. pop — soda
  14. last — finally
  15. pop — music
  16. last — to go on
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. file — a document
  20. last — final
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. degree — an amount
  23. pop — to visit
  24. file — a tool

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