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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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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: game · land · swing · snap · ruler · jam · bark · degree

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. game — a match
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. swing — in golf
  10. snap — to click
  11. degree — temperature
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. swing — music
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. game — wild animals
  16. land — a country
  17. land — ground
  18. degree — an amount
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. bark — to shout
  23. degree — from a university
  24. land — to come down

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