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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 116 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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468
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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. wake — a trail
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. degree — an amount
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. press — newspapers
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. degree — temperature
  14. degree — from a university
  15. press — a publisher
  16. cap — a hat
  17. cap — of ice
  18. cap — a lid
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. press — to push

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