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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. track — a song
  3. degree — temperature
  4. court — of law
  5. drill — the tool
  6. track — to keep track
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. court — for sport
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. court — of a king
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. foot — a measure
  14. drill — army training
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. degree — an amount
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. track — a path
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. degree — from a university
  24. drill — a practice

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