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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: pitch · tear · dip · field · straw · degree

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. degree — from a university
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. degree — an amount
  7. field — for sport
  8. tear — to rip
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. tear — from crying
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. field — a subject
  13. pitch — completely
  14. degree — temperature
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. tear — from crying
  17. dip — to sink
  18. field — farmland

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