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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: branch · pitch · pound · degree · fan · row · ground · temple

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. ground — crushed
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. ground — the earth
  8. pitch — completely
  9. degree — temperature
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. ground — a position
  14. row — to paddle
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. branch — a division
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. pound — a weight
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. degree — from a university
  24. row — a line

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