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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. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. pound — a weight
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. degree — from a university
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. hand — help
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. last — to go on
  13. last — finally
  14. snap — to click
  15. degree — temperature
  16. degree — an amount
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. hand — in cards
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. last — final
  24. leaves — of a tree

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