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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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Word bank
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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 · land · degree · chair · ground · cap

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. cap — a lid
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. cap — of ice
  5. snap — to click
  6. cap — a hat
  7. degree — an amount
  8. land — to come down
  9. degree — temperature
  10. ground — a position
  11. degree — from a university
  12. chair — a leader
  13. land — ground
  14. land — a country
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. ground — crushed
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. ground — the earth

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