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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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Word bank
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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: content · lie · spring · degree · snap · pound · pass · game

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. game — wild animals
  4. degree — from a university
  5. spring — the season
  6. spring — a coil
  7. degree — an amount
  8. game — a match
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. spring — of water
  11. pass — a permit
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. pound — a weight
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. lie — to recline
  19. content — the amount
  20. degree — temperature
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. content — happy

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