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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 · mate · kick · object · branch · snap · fall · pit

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. object — an aim
  3. object — a thing
  4. mate — to breed
  5. pit — in a race
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. branch — a division
  9. degree — from a university
  10. fall — to drop
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. kick — in football
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. pit — a hole
  16. degree — an amount
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. object — to protest
  19. fall — to drop
  20. mate — a friend
  21. fall — the season
  22. degree — temperature
  23. mate — a partner
  24. kick — with a leg

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