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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 124 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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. pass — to spend time
  3. spell — letters
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. ball — a great time
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. spell — magic
  11. degree — from a university
  12. kid — child
  13. spell — a short time
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. chip — to eat
  16. chip — for betting
  17. degree — temperature
  18. degree — an amount
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. pass — a permit
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. kid — to tease
  24. ball — a dance

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