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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. degree — from a university
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. saw — the tool
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. degree — temperature
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. bass — the fish
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. degree — an amount
  19. pound — a weight
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. saw — the tool
  22. bass — low music
  23. pit — in a race
  24. pit — a hole

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