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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 116 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. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. degree — temperature
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. spell — magic
  5. firm — steady
  6. last — final
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. mark — a grade
  10. spell — a short time
  11. firm — a company
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. spell — letters
  14. shower — rain
  15. bat — the animal
  16. firm — decided
  17. last — to go on
  18. snap — to click
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. shower — to wash
  21. last — finally
  22. degree — an amount
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. degree — from a university

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