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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · bass · rash · pound · fine · pitch · degree · bat

  1. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. bass — the fish
  3. clip — a video
  4. clip — to cut
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. bass — low music
  8. degree — temperature
  9. degree — an amount
  10. rash — a series
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. fine — all right
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. pound — a weight
  15. bat — the animal
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. rash — hasty
  21. clip — for paper
  22. fine — high quality
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. degree — from a university

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