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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. drill — army training
  4. degree — from a university
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. last — to go on
  7. race — the arms race
  8. drill — the tool
  9. race — a contest
  10. degree — temperature
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. last — finally
  13. drill — a practice
  14. race — humankind
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. degree — an amount
  18. last — final
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. calf — of the leg

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