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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 120 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: rock · bass · degree · pitch · trunk · sharp · wound · fan

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. wound — an injury
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. wound — an injury
  5. sharp — clever
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. degree — from a university
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. bass — the fish
  11. pitch — completely
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. rock — music
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. rock — a stone
  20. degree — temperature
  21. degree — an amount
  22. bass — low music
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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