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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: date · degree · snap · hand · pop · fan · bay · mark

  1. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. snap — to click
  3. date — the fruit
  4. degree — from a university
  5. mark — a grade
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. pop — music
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. degree — temperature
  14. hand — help
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. hand — in cards
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. pop — soda
  20. degree — an amount
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. pop — to visit
  24. hand — part of the body

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