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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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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: trunk · pound · chip · rule · pitch · degree

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. rule — a law
  4. pound — a weight
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. chip — to eat
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. degree — from a university
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. rule — government
  15. pitch — completely
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. chip — for betting
  18. degree — an amount

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