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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: degree · mark · cell · arm · hand · bark · snap · swing

  1. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. swing — in golf
  4. swing — to play on
  5. mark — a trace
  6. swing — music
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. snap — to click
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. degree — from a university
  12. bark — to shout
  13. degree — an amount
  14. degree — temperature
  15. hand — in cards
  16. hand — help
  17. cell — in biology
  18. cell — a phone
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. arm — part of the body

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