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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: land · fall · mouse · bay · trunk · deal · snap · degree

  1. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. fall — to drop
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. land — a country
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. snap — to click
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. degree — an amount
  10. degree — temperature
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. deal — to handle
  17. land — to come down
  18. degree — from a university
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. land — ground
  23. fall — to drop
  24. fall — the season

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