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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. pit — in a race
  4. sharp — clever
  5. degree — an amount
  6. cue — a hint
  7. cue — a signal
  8. can — to be able to
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. file — a document
  11. pit — a hole
  12. file — a tool
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. can — a tin
  15. rule — government
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. degree — temperature
  19. can — a tin
  20. snap — to click
  21. cue — for pool
  22. degree — from a university
  23. file — a line of people
  24. rule — a law

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