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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: degree · snap · mark · mate · pound · bark · current · pass

  1. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. degree — an amount
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. mate — to breed
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. current — happening now
  8. mate — a friend
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. current — electric
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. mark — a grade
  13. current — of water
  14. mate — a partner
  15. mark — a trace
  16. pound — a weight
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. snap — to click
  19. degree — temperature
  20. bark — to shout
  21. degree — from a university
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. pass — a permit
  24. mark — to pay attention

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