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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: tear · saw · current · fall · snap · degree · present · pound

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. pound — a weight
  3. fall — the season
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. current — happening now
  6. present — there
  7. degree — an amount
  8. snap — to click
  9. present — the time now
  10. fall — to drop
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. tear — to rip
  13. tear — from crying
  14. tear — from crying
  15. present — a gift
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. saw — the tool
  18. saw — the tool
  19. current — of water
  20. degree — temperature
  21. current — electric
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. degree — from a university
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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