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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. hand — help
  4. hand — in cards
  5. can — a tin
  6. degree — from a university
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. fine — high quality
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. degree — an amount
  11. snap — to click
  12. ground — the earth
  13. degree — temperature
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. fine — all right
  19. can — to be able to
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. can — a tin
  22. ground — a position
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. hand — part of the body

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