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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: row · pitch · mark · kick · degree · pop · wave · field

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. mark — a grade
  4. degree — an amount
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. pop — soda
  11. field — a subject
  12. row — to paddle
  13. pop — to visit
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. field — farmland
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. degree — from a university
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. pitch — completely
  20. pop — music
  21. field — for sport
  22. kick — in football
  23. mark — a trace
  24. degree — temperature

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