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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: rule · pitch · swing · face · degree · squash

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. rule — a law
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. face — to confront
  5. degree — from a university
  6. rule — government
  7. face — to point toward
  8. swing — music
  9. swing — to play on
  10. degree — an amount
  11. squash — to crush
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. pitch — completely
  16. face — part of the head
  17. degree — temperature
  18. swing — in golf

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