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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. current — happening now
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. mug — to rob
  6. spell — magic
  7. ground — the earth
  8. degree — an amount
  9. current — electric
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. spell — letters
  12. degree — temperature
  13. ground — crushed
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. current — of water
  16. rush — hurry
  17. spell — a short time
  18. degree — from a university
  19. mine — for digging
  20. mug — a cup
  21. mug — a face
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. ground — a position

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