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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: pitch · degree · chip · rule · rest · bass · stick · hand

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. degree — temperature
  5. rule — a law
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. chip — for betting
  8. rest — what's left
  9. bass — the fish
  10. hand — in cards
  11. hand — help
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. rest — what's left
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. chip — to eat
  17. degree — from a university
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. rest — a break
  21. pitch — completely
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. rule — government
  24. degree — an amount

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