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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: craft · bowl · snap · pitch · mouse · degree

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. snap — to click
  5. degree — an amount
  6. degree — from a university
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. degree — temperature
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. craft — boats
  15. pitch — completely
  16. craft — a skill
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. snap — to speak sharply

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