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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 120 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: arm · cabinet · degree · ball · leaves · chip · snap · tear

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. degree — temperature
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. chip — for betting
  5. ball — a dance
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. degree — an amount
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. tear — to rip
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. degree — from a university
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. ball — a great time
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. chip — to eat
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. tear — from crying
  22. tear — from crying
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. leaves — lets stay

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