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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. degree — temperature
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. degree — from a university
  12. snap — to click
  13. board — a committee
  14. rash — hasty
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. rock — music
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. rash — a series
  21. rock — a stone
  22. board — to get on
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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