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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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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: swing · snap · ground · ball · degree · temple · calf · last

  1. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. ball — a dance
  3. ground — a position
  4. last — final
  5. snap — to click
  6. last — finally
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. last — to go on
  9. ground — crushed
  10. degree — an amount
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. ground — the earth
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. degree — from a university
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. swing — to play on
  19. ball — a great time
  20. swing — in golf
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. degree — temperature
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. temple — a place of worship

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