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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. present — there
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. pop — to visit
  6. hand — in cards
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. dip — to sink
  11. degree — an amount
  12. present — a gift
  13. pop — music
  14. present — the time now
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. bat — the animal
  17. degree — from a university
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. hand — help
  20. pop — soda
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. degree — temperature
  23. snap — to click
  24. dip — a sauce

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