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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 120 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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: last · sharp · cabinet · degree · cell · snap · bore · capital

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. degree — an amount
  3. last — final
  4. cell — a phone
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. sharp — clever
  7. degree — temperature
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. cell — in biology
  11. capital — money
  12. bore — to tire
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. degree — from a university
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. bore — to drill
  17. capital — a city
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. last — finally
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. snap — to click
  24. last — to go on

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