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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 116 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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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. degree — an amount
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. snap — to click
  9. degree — from a university
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. pop — soda
  12. root — the cause
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. pound — a weight
  15. root — of a plant
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. root — of a word
  18. fork — in a road
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. degree — temperature
  21. pop — music
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. pop — to visit
  24. fork — a garden tool

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