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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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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. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. squash — the sport
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. wound — an injury
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. rest — a break
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. squash — to crush
  11. degree — an amount
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. degree — temperature
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. snap — to click
  16. degree — from a university
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. wound — an injury
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. mine — for digging
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. rest — what's left

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