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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. march — the month
  4. current — happening now
  5. object — a thing
  6. degree — from a university
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. degree — temperature
  9. ground — the earth
  10. ground — crushed
  11. object — to protest
  12. object — an aim
  13. cell — a phone
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. current — electric
  17. snap — to click
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. degree — an amount
  20. ground — a position
  21. current — of water
  22. march — the month
  23. cell — in biology
  24. march — music

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