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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: pitch · degree · toast · perch · race · snap

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. race — a contest
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. toast — bread
  7. degree — temperature
  8. perch — the fish
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. pitch — completely
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. race — the arms race
  14. degree — an amount
  15. race — humankind
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. snap — to click
  18. perch — for a bird

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