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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: degree · season · craft · toast · pound · snap · rule · wound

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. pound — a weight
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. wound — an injury
  7. degree — from a university
  8. craft — boats
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. craft — a skill
  13. rule — government
  14. toast — bread
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. degree — an amount
  17. rule — a law
  18. snap — to click
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. season — in sport
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. season — of the year

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