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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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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: degree · pop · bay · game · snap · bore · chest · wound

  1. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a part of the sea
  2. degree — an amount
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. game — wild animals
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. wound — an injury
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. wound — an injury
  9. pop — music
  10. snap — to click
  11. degree — from a university
  12. chest — of your body
  13. bore — to tire
  14. chest — of your body
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. bore — to drill
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. pop — soda
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. game — a match
  22. chest — a box
  23. degree — temperature
  24. pop — to visit

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