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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. lean — to bend
  3. track — to keep track
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. snap — to click
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. track — a song
  10. lean — thin
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. degree — an amount
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. chip — to eat
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. track — a path
  18. wind — moving air
  19. degree — temperature
  20. deal — to handle
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. chip — for betting
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. wind — moving air

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