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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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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: rock · ground · squash · bat · degree · tear · snap · saw

  1. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. snap — to click
  3. saw — the tool
  4. squash — the sport
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. degree — temperature
  7. tear — from crying
  8. degree — from a university
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. bat — the animal
  11. saw — the tool
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. ground — crushed
  14. tear — from crying
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. tear — to rip
  18. degree — an amount
  19. rock — music
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. squash — to crush
  23. ground — a position
  24. rock — a stone

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