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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: face · hand · calf · degree · nail · last · bark · snap

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. bark — to shout
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. hand — in cards
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. degree — an amount
  8. last — final
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. hand — help
  13. snap — to click
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. face — part of the head
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. degree — from a university
  18. face — to point toward
  19. face — to confront
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. degree — temperature
  22. last — to go on
  23. last — finally
  24. calf — a young animal

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