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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. staff — a stick
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. race — a contest
  5. last — finally
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. staff — employees
  8. ground — the earth
  9. last — final
  10. race — humankind
  11. last — to go on
  12. race — the arms race
  13. saw — the tool
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. bore — to tire
  16. degree — from a university
  17. saw — the tool
  18. staff — employees
  19. snap — to click
  20. bore — to drill
  21. ground — crushed
  22. ground — a position
  23. degree — an amount
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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