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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 · hand · rule · rush · cabinet · degree · march · stand

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. stand — to bear
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. march — music
  6. rule — government
  7. march — the month
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. degree — from a university
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. degree — an amount
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. degree — temperature
  16. pitch — completely
  17. rule — a law
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. hand — in cards
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. march — the month
  23. rush — hurry
  24. rule — to rule out

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