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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: pitch · lie · degree · ruler · cell · spell

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. degree — temperature
  6. degree — an amount
  7. cell — a phone
  8. cell — in biology
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. degree — from a university
  12. lie — to recline
  13. spell — magic
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. pitch — completely
  18. spell — a short time

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