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

Word bank: snap · wave · pit · rule · hide · roll · last · degree

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. last — to go on
  3. degree — from a university
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. rule — government
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. last — finally
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. roll — a cake
  13. roll — a list
  14. snap — to click
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. degree — temperature
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. pit — a hole
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. pit — in a race
  23. rule — a law
  24. degree — an amount

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