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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. staff — employees
  4. mate — a friend
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. fall — the season
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. wake — a trail
  10. mate — to breed
  11. mate — a partner
  12. fall — to drop
  13. degree — from a university
  14. staff — a stick
  15. roll — a list
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. degree — temperature
  18. chip — to eat
  19. chip — for betting
  20. kick — in football
  21. degree — an amount
  22. staff — employees
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. fall — to drop

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