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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: pitch · degree · staff · press · swing · stick

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  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. degree — from a university
  2. swing — to play on
  3. staff — employees
  4. pitch — completely
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. press — newspapers
  7. staff — a stick
  8. swing — music
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. press — to push
  11. press — a publisher
  12. degree — temperature
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. staff — employees
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. degree — an amount
  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