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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: snap · roll · land · pitch · wake · racket · fork · degree

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. land — a country
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. pitch — completely
  8. wake — a trail
  9. degree — temperature
  10. fork — in a road
  11. land — ground
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. roll — a list
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. roll — a cake
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. land — to come down
  21. degree — an amount
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. degree — from a university

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