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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. pound — a weight
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. game — a match
  5. snap — to click
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. game — wild animals
  9. degree — temperature
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. spell — letters
  13. degree — from a university
  14. lean — to bend
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. lean — thin
  18. degree — an amount
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. spell — a short time
  24. spell — magic

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