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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: pop · court · hide · degree · mate · toast · snap · face

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  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. snap — to snap out of it
  2. court — for sport
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. court — of a king
  6. pop — music
  7. face — to confront
  8. degree — from a university
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. face — to point toward
  13. pop — to visit
  14. face — part of the head
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. court — of law
  17. mate — a partner
  18. snap — to click
  19. pop — soda
  20. mate — to breed
  21. degree — temperature
  22. mate — a friend
  23. toast — bread
  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