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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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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: rock · coach · date · saw · degree · cold · object · snap

  1. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. saw — the tool
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. snap — to click
  5. saw — the tool
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. object — a thing
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. cold — an illness
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. degree — from a university
  13. date — the fruit
  14. cold — not warm
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. rock — music
  17. object — to protest
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. rock — a stone
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. degree — temperature
  23. degree — an amount
  24. date — on the calendar

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