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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: clip · bowl · present · pitch · kid · racket · degree · stick

  1. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. clip — to cut
  3. pitch — completely
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. present — there
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. degree — temperature
  10. kid — child
  11. clip — for paper
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. degree — from a university
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. kid — to tease
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. clip — a video
  19. present — the time now
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. degree — an amount
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. present — a gift

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