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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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. wind — to turn a key
  3. degree — temperature
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. craft — boats
  6. bear — the animal
  7. craft — a skill
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. bear — the animal
  10. wind — moving air
  11. bat — the animal
  12. snap — to click
  13. race — the arms race
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. degree — an amount
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. race — a contest
  20. wind — moving air
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. degree — from a university
  23. race — humankind
  24. bear — to put up with

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