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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 116 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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. spell — letters
  3. bore — to drill
  4. degree — from a university
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. bore — to tire
  7. net — for catching
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. net — after costs
  10. spell — a short time
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. net — in sport
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. snap — to click
  17. spell — magic
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. degree — an amount
  20. wind — moving air
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. pound — a weight
  23. wind — moving air
  24. stem — to come from

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