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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: staff · snap · fork · degree · rock · cold · fine · calf

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. fork — in a road
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. rock — music
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. staff — a stick
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. fine — high quality
  9. staff — employees
  10. staff — employees
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. cold — an illness
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. degree — from a university
  18. fine — all right
  19. rock — a stone
  20. cold — not warm
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. snap — to click
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. degree — temperature

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