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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 King held a masked ________________.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. rash — a series
  3. rash — hasty
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. last — to go on
  8. degree — an amount
  9. degree — from a university
  10. degree — temperature
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. snap — to click
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. last — final
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. ball — a great time
  22. wake — a trail
  23. branch — a division
  24. last — finally

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