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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: arm · snap · mark · degree · ball · wave · cold · stick

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. ball — a great time
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. degree — from a university
  7. degree — an amount
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. cold — an illness
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. snap — to click
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. mark — a trace
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. ball — a dance
  20. degree — temperature
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. mark — a grade
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. arm — a part of something

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