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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: snap · swing · last · rest · nail · mate · game · degree

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. degree — temperature
  3. swing — to play on
  4. game — a match
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. snap — to click
  7. swing — in golf
  8. rest — what's left
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. last — to go on
  12. mate — a partner
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. mate — a friend
  15. degree — from a university
  16. game — wild animals
  17. last — finally
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. mate — to breed
  20. rest — a break
  21. degree — an amount
  22. swing — music
  23. last — final
  24. rest — what's left

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