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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. band — a music group
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. rest — what's left
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. bark — to shout
  9. degree — an amount
  10. snap — to click
  11. degree — from a university
  12. rest — a break
  13. band — a ring
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. pass — a permit
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. swing — in golf
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. swing — to play on
  22. degree — temperature
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. swing — music

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