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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.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

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

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. snap — to click
  6. degree — from a university
  7. pound — a weight
  8. last — to go on
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. degree — temperature
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. degree — an amount
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. last — finally
  18. snap — to speak sharply

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