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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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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: game · bass · snap · arm · pitch · hand · degree · present

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. game — wild animals
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. present — the time now
  6. hand — in cards
  7. snap — to click
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. degree — an amount
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. hand — help
  14. degree — from a university
  15. present — a gift
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. pitch — completely
  18. present — there
  19. game — a match
  20. degree — temperature
  21. bass — low music
  22. bass — the fish
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. bass — the instrument

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