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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 · trunk · pitch · degree · pound · straw · bass · rock

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. bass — the fish
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. degree — temperature
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. pound — a weight
  9. degree — from a university
  10. degree — an amount
  11. pitch — completely
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. clip — for paper
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. rock — a stone
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. rock — music
  21. bass — low music
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. clip — to cut

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