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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: object · bat · branch · snap · degree · pound · court · key

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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. branch — a division
  3. degree — from a university
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. pound — a weight
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. key — the most important part
  9. court — of law
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. key — for a lock
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. degree — temperature
  15. object — an aim
  16. object — to protest
  17. court — for sport
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. court — of a king
  20. degree — an amount
  21. snap — to click
  22. object — a thing
  23. key — in music
  24. bat — the animal

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