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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. saw — the tool
  5. snap — to click
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. object — an aim
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. pound — a weight
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. saw — the tool
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. degree — from a university
  14. ground — the earth
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. ground — crushed
  17. object — to protest
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. object — a thing
  21. degree — temperature
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. ground — a position

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