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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. degree — from a university
  3. degree — temperature
  4. ground — the earth
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. bark — to shout
  9. wind — moving air
  10. degree — an amount
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. ground — a position
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. ground — crushed
  16. wind — moving air
  17. rash — a series
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. kick — in football
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. rash — hasty
  24. snap — to click

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