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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: bound · snap · root · degree · last · straw · swing · roll

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. degree — an amount
  3. swing — in golf
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. roll — a cake
  6. last — final
  7. bound — tied together
  8. degree — from a university
  9. last — finally
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. bound — certain
  12. snap — to click
  13. root — of a word
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. root — of a plant
  17. swing — music
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. root — the cause
  20. roll — a list
  21. last — to go on
  22. swing — to play on
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. bound — obliged

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