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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 · drill · toast · pound · snap · kid · bass · rule

  1. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. degree — an amount
  3. rule — a law
  4. snap — to click
  5. kid — to tease
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. degree — from a university
  8. bass — low music
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. drill — a practice
  12. rule — government
  13. pound — a weight
  14. drill — army training
  15. toast — bread
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. drill — the tool
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. degree — temperature
  21. kid — child
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. bass — the fish

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