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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: pound · dip · rash · cold · degree · snap · club · foot

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. degree — from a university
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. rash — hasty
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. degree — temperature
  9. degree — an amount
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. club — a group
  14. club — for dancing
  15. rash — a series
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. dip — to sink
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. foot — a measure
  20. cold — an illness
  21. snap — to click
  22. club — for golf
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. cold — not warm

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