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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: cabinet · wind · degree · snap · tube · season · leaves · sharp

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. season — of the year
  3. tube — the underground
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. degree — an amount
  6. degree — temperature
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. wind — moving air
  9. sharp — clever
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. degree — from a university
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. season — in sport
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. tube — a container
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. wind — moving air

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