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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 120 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: firm · degree · bore · wake · hand · object · race · snap

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. race — humankind
  3. race — the arms race
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. degree — temperature
  6. hand — help
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. object — an aim
  11. object — to protest
  12. snap — to click
  13. race — a contest
  14. firm — a company
  15. bore — to tire
  16. wake — a trail
  17. bore — to drill
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. object — a thing
  20. firm — steady
  21. firm — decided
  22. degree — from a university
  23. hand — in cards
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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