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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: band · pitch · ruler · mouse · chair · pound · degree · clip

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. degree — temperature
  4. clip — a video
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. pitch — completely
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. band — a music group
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. chair — a leader
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. pound — a weight
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. clip — for paper
  18. degree — an amount
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. degree — from a university
  21. band — a ring
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. chair — to sit on

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