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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 120 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. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. degree — an amount
  3. degree — temperature
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. degree — from a university
  12. club — for golf
  13. press — a publisher
  14. bound — tied together
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. kick — in football
  17. wax — to grow
  18. club — a group
  19. press — to push
  20. sharp — clever
  21. bound — obliged
  22. press — newspapers
  23. club — for dancing
  24. snap — to click

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