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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: leaves · pound · deal · snap · chest · jam · degree · staff

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. staff — a stick
  3. degree — an amount
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. jam — in traffic
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. degree — from a university
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. pound — a weight
  12. staff — employees
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. chest — of your body
  16. staff — employees
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. deal — to handle
  20. chest — a box
  21. degree — temperature
  22. chest — of your body
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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