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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. 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. snap — to snap out of it
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. degree — temperature
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. track — a path
  6. snap — to click
  7. pound — a weight
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. track — to keep track
  10. ball — a dance
  11. perch — the fish
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. ball — a great time
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. track — a song
  18. degree — an amount
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. degree — from a university
  24. 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