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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 116 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: pitch · wind · degree · fan · spring · track

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. track — a path
  4. degree — from a university
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. spring — a coil
  7. wind — moving air
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. wind — moving air
  11. spring — of water
  12. degree — temperature
  13. track — to keep track
  14. pitch — completely
  15. degree — an amount
  16. spring — the season
  17. track — a song
  18. pitch — a sales talk

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