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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 · wind · degree · tear · foot · suit

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. degree — from a university
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. suit — to fit
  5. tear — from crying
  6. suit — in cards
  7. snap — to click
  8. tear — from crying
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. suit — clothes
  11. foot — a measure
  12. wind — moving air
  13. tear — to rip
  14. degree — an amount
  15. degree — temperature
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. wind — moving air

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