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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: wound · pitch · game · shower · firm · degree · deal · rock

  1. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. shower — to wash
  3. degree — an amount
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. deal — to handle
  6. firm — decided
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. shower — rain
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. degree — from a university
  11. game — wild animals
  12. pitch — completely
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. game — a match
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. rock — a stone
  18. degree — temperature
  19. rock — music
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. firm — steady
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. wound — an injury
  24. wound — an injury

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