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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: nail · rule · pitch · plane · degree · squash · cap · snap

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. rule — government
  4. cap — of ice
  5. cap — a lid
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. cap — a hat
  9. rule — a law
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. plane — a tool
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. squash — the sport
  16. pitch — completely
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. degree — from a university
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. snap — to click
  21. squash — to crush
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. degree — temperature
  24. nail — for a hammer

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