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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: squash · snap · roll · degree · temple · hand · bowl · chest

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. chest — of your body
  4. squash — the sport
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. degree — temperature
  9. degree — an amount
  10. chest — a box
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. hand — help
  14. roll — a list
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. roll — a cake
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. snap — to click
  21. chest — of your body
  22. squash — to crush
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. hand — in cards

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