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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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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. craft — a skill
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. present — a gift
  7. present — there
  8. craft — boats
  9. degree — an amount
  10. degree — from a university
  11. pit — a hole
  12. stand — to bear
  13. foot — a measure
  14. present — the time now
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. date — the fruit
  19. pit — in a race
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. snap — to click
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. degree — temperature

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