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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. mate — to breed
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. mate — a partner
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. snap — to click
  7. degree — an amount
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. degree — from a university
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. spring — a coil
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. spring — the season
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. mate — a friend
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. chair — a leader
  22. scale — in music
  23. spring — of water
  24. scale — size or range

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