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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. degree — temperature
  3. dip — to sink
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. current — happening now
  7. snap — to click
  8. present — the time now
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. degree — an amount
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. wake — a trail
  15. present — a gift
  16. bat — the animal
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. degree — from a university
  22. current — electric
  23. current — of water
  24. present — there

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