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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. snap — to click
  4. last — to go on
  5. club — for dancing
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. club — for golf
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. last — finally
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. last — final
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. club — a group
  16. wind — moving air
  17. track — a path
  18. degree — temperature
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. wind — moving air
  21. track — a song
  22. stand — to bear
  23. track — to keep track
  24. degree — an amount

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