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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 · degree · last · ground · roll · date · snap · present

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  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. degree — from a university
  2. ground — the earth
  3. last — finally
  4. last — to go on
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. present — there
  7. degree — temperature
  8. degree — an amount
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. date — the fruit
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. present — the time now
  15. ground — crushed
  16. present — a gift
  17. snap — to click
  18. ground — a position
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. last — final
  21. roll — a list
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. roll — a cake
  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