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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 120 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: rush · deal · degree · mug · wind · bank · pitcher · snap

  1. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. degree — from a university
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. mug — a face
  6. bank — of a river
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. bank — for money
  9. rush — hurry
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. degree — temperature
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. deal — to handle
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. degree — an amount
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. snap — to click
  19. mug — to rob
  20. wind — moving air
  21. wind — moving air
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. bank — for money
  24. wind — to turn a key

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