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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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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: shower · mouse · bear · snap · degree · spell · mate · pitch

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. bear — the animal
  6. shower — to wash
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. mate — to breed
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. degree — temperature
  11. spell — a short time
  12. pitch — completely
  13. spell — magic
  14. degree — from a university
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. bear — the animal
  17. spell — letters
  18. shower — rain
  19. mate — a friend
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. snap — to click
  24. degree — an amount

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