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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. bass — low music
  3. staff — employees
  4. land — a country
  5. staff — employees
  6. race — a contest
  7. mate — to breed
  8. spell — letters
  9. degree — an amount
  10. mate — a partner
  11. race — humankind
  12. race — the arms race
  13. degree — from a university
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. land — to come down
  17. spell — magic
  18. spell — a short time
  19. bass — the fish
  20. staff — a stick
  21. snap — to click
  22. degree — temperature
  23. land — ground
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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