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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: jam · land · snap · bark · cue · degree · spell · race

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. cue — for pool
  4. land — ground
  5. cue — a hint
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. bark — to shout
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. cue — a signal
  10. snap — to click
  11. degree — from a university
  12. race — humankind
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. race — a contest
  15. race — the arms race
  16. spell — a short time
  17. degree — temperature
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. degree — an amount
  20. spell — magic
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. spell — letters
  23. jam — a tight spot
  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