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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: current · ball · bear · snap · degree · file · pop · pitch

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. snap — to click
  3. file — a tool
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. pop — music
  6. degree — temperature
  7. pop — to visit
  8. current — happening now
  9. ball — a great time
  10. pop — soda
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. file — a document
  13. bear — the animal
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. current — of water
  16. bear — the animal
  17. ball — a dance
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. current — electric
  20. degree — from a university
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. file — a line of people
  24. pitch — completely

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