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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. When will it ________________ you to start?
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — to fit
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. ball — a great time
  4. last — finally
  5. degree — temperature
  6. last — to go on
  7. land — to come down
  8. land — a country
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. stem — to come from
  12. tube — the underground
  13. degree — from a university
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. degree — an amount
  16. suit — clothes
  17. last — final
  18. land — ground
  19. snap — to click
  20. tube — a container
  21. ball — a dance
  22. suit — in cards
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. tube — in a tire

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