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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. wind — moving air
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. degree — temperature
  6. degree — from a university
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. bore — to drill
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. wind — moving air
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. bore — to tire
  14. rest — what's left
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. degree — an amount
  18. rest — what's left
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. deal — to handle
  22. date — the fruit
  23. snap — to click
  24. rest — a break

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