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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: degree · drill · toast · pound · snap · kid

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. kid — child
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. pound — a weight
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. drill — the tool
  9. drill — a practice
  10. drill — army training
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. degree — temperature
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. degree — an amount
  15. snap — to click
  16. kid — to tease
  17. toast — bread
  18. snap — to snap out of it

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