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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. tube — the underground
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. cell — in biology
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. tube — a container
  8. snap — to click
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. degree — temperature
  11. degree — an amount
  12. tear — from crying
  13. tear — from crying
  14. tear — to rip
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. kick — in football
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. staff — a stick
  20. staff — employees
  21. degree — from a university
  22. cell — a phone
  23. staff — employees
  24. jam — in traffic

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