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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 120 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: hand · wind · ball · snap · ground · degree · kick · suit

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. ground — a position
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. snap — to click
  6. ground — the earth
  7. ball — a dance
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. suit — to fit
  10. ball — a great time
  11. kick — in football
  12. degree — from a university
  13. degree — temperature
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. hand — in cards
  16. wind — moving air
  17. degree — an amount
  18. ground — crushed
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. suit — in cards
  21. suit — clothes
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. hand — help

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