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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: bay · perch · snap · bowl · wind · degree · band · can

  1. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — to keep at bay
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. wind — moving air
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. degree — an amount
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. can — a tin
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. band — a music group
  11. degree — temperature
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. degree — from a university
  14. snap — to click
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. can — to be able to
  19. wind — moving air
  20. band — a ring
  21. perch — the fish
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. can — a tin
  24. band — a rubber band

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