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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 smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — for spectators
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. wind — moving air
  7. sharp — clever
  8. stand — to bear
  9. snap — to click
  10. degree — temperature
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. cell — in biology
  14. cell — a phone
  15. wake — a trail
  16. degree — from a university
  17. wind — moving air
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. degree — an amount
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. bowl — a football final

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