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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: degree · staff · sharp · snap · squash · rush · clip · wind

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. squash — to crush
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. degree — from a university
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. rush — hurry
  8. staff — employees
  9. wind — moving air
  10. squash — the sport
  11. clip — for paper
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. snap — to click
  16. staff — a stick
  17. clip — to cut
  18. sharp — clever
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. wind — moving air
  21. staff — employees
  22. clip — a video
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. degree — temperature

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