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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. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. last — finally
  3. race — humankind
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. degree — temperature
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. mug — to rob
  10. last — final
  11. roll — a list
  12. mug — a face
  13. last — to go on
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. degree — an amount
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. roll — a cake
  18. bat — the animal
  19. degree — from a university
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. snap — to click
  22. race — a contest
  23. mug — a cup
  24. race — the arms race

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