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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: chest · stock · bowl · degree · wind · snap

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. degree — temperature
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. wind — moving air
  5. chest — of your body
  6. chest — of your body
  7. wind — moving air
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. degree — from a university
  12. snap — to click
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. stock — goods
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. degree — an amount
  17. stock — shares
  18. bowl — a dish

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