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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: pitch · bass · rush · dip · clip · band · degree · saw

  1. That must've been a ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. degree — from a university
  3. bass — the fish
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. pitch — completely
  6. degree — temperature
  7. degree — an amount
  8. clip — a video
  9. band — a ring
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. band — a music group
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. saw — the tool
  14. rush — hurry
  15. clip — for paper
  16. bass — low music
  17. saw — the tool
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. clip — to cut
  20. dip — to sink
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. dip — to dunk

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