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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 · rule · drill

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. craft — boats
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. degree — an amount
  8. drill — the tool
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. degree — temperature
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. drill — army training
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. rule — government
  18. drill — a practice
  19. snap — to click
  20. craft — a skill
  21. degree — from a university
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. pitch — completely
  24. pitch — a sports field

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