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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. land — to come down
  4. degree — an amount
  5. ball — a great time
  6. ball — a dance
  7. club — for golf
  8. degree — from a university
  9. degree — temperature
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. club — for dancing
  14. mark — a trace
  15. mark — a grade
  16. rush — hurry
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. land — a country
  20. land — ground
  21. snap — to click
  22. club — a group
  23. last — to go on
  24. last — finally

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