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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: degree · fall · snap · last · bass · mouse · branch · capital

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. branch — a division
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. last — final
  8. last — finally
  9. capital — money
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. degree — temperature
  13. fall — the season
  14. fall — to drop
  15. bass — low music
  16. bass — the fish
  17. fall — to drop
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. degree — an amount
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. capital — a city
  23. last — to go on
  24. degree — from a university

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