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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: row · craft · net · rock · shower · mark · snap · degree

  1. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. net — after costs
  3. rock — music
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. row — to paddle
  6. degree — temperature
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. degree — an amount
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. rock — a stone
  11. shower — to wash
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. craft — boats
  14. degree — from a university
  15. shower — rain
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. net — for catching
  18. craft — a skill
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. row — a line
  21. mark — a trace
  22. mark — a grade
  23. snap — to click
  24. net — in sport

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