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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: snap · chair · degree · bore · craft · wind

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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. wind — moving air
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. wind — moving air
  6. bore — to tire
  7. craft — a skill
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. snap — to click
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. chair — a leader
  15. bore — to drill
  16. craft — boats
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. degree — from a university

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