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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.

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: nail · hand · charge · track · degree · snap · mouse · cold

  1. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. track — a song
  3. snap — to click
  4. degree — temperature
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. hand — help
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. degree — from a university
  13. track — to keep track
  14. track — a path
  15. degree — an amount
  16. cold — an illness
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. charge — in control
  20. hand — in cards
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. cold — not warm
  23. charge — a price
  24. nail — for a hammer

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