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

  1. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. clip — for paper
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. degree — temperature
  6. degree — from a university
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. clip — a video
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. land — to come down
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. degree — an amount
  15. snap — to click
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. clip — to cut
  20. land — ground
  21. land — a country
  22. bark — to shout
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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