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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: rule · pitch · degree · stand · shower · cell

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. stand — to bear
  3. pitch — completely
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. degree — an amount
  6. rule — a law
  7. degree — temperature
  8. shower — to wash
  9. rule — government
  10. degree — from a university
  11. shower — rain
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. cell — a phone
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. cell — in biology

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