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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: scale · leaves · snap · mine · trunk · degree · net · present

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. present — a gift
  3. scale — in music
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. net — in sport
  7. degree — temperature
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. present — the time now
  10. mine — for digging
  11. net — for catching
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. scale — size or range
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. degree — an amount
  16. net — after costs
  17. snap — to click
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. degree — from a university
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. present — there

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