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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. scale — in music
  4. can — a tin
  5. snap — to click
  6. degree — an amount
  7. can — to be able to
  8. degree — temperature
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. net — in sport
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. can — a tin
  14. net — for catching
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. degree — from a university
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. scale — size or range
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. net — after costs
  23. mate — to breed
  24. mate — a partner

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