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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: degree · racket · snap · craft · mate · spring · pitch · row

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. mate — a partner
  5. degree — temperature
  6. pitch — completely
  7. degree — from a university
  8. row — a line
  9. mate — a friend
  10. spring — the season
  11. degree — an amount
  12. snap — to click
  13. row — to paddle
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. mate — to breed
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. spring — of water
  19. spring — a coil
  20. craft — boats
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. craft — a skill

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