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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: bowl · field · kick · spell · stock · degree · snap · pit

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. spell — letters
  4. spell — a short time
  5. field — farmland
  6. field — for sport
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. spell — magic
  9. degree — from a university
  10. kick — in football
  11. pit — a hole
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. degree — an amount
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. snap — to click
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. stock — shares
  20. field — a subject
  21. degree — temperature
  22. stock — goods
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. pit — in a race

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