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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: pitcher · cue · perch · snap · wind · rest · degree · roll

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. roll — a cake
  4. cue — a signal
  5. degree — temperature
  6. rest — what's left
  7. roll — a list
  8. rest — a break
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. cue — a hint
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. degree — an amount
  14. perch — the fish
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. wind — moving air
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. rest — what's left
  19. snap — to click
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. cue — for pool
  22. wind — moving air
  23. degree — from a university
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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