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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: leaves · snap · row · pitch · current · degree · bark · content

  1. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. snap — to click
  3. degree — an amount
  4. row — to paddle
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. current — of water
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. row — a line
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. degree — temperature
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. current — happening now
  17. content — the amount
  18. content — happy
  19. degree — from a university
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. pitch — completely
  24. bark — to shout

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