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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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. wound — an injury
  3. degree — temperature
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. snap — to click
  6. degree — from a university
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. wound — an injury
  12. clip — to cut
  13. ground — crushed
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. bark — to shout
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. ground — a position
  19. degree — an amount
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. clip — for paper
  23. clip — a video
  24. calf — a young animal

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