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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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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: kick · cue · file · pitch · prune · club · degree · bass

  1. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. degree — from a university
  4. pitch — completely
  5. club — a group
  6. prune — to trim
  7. file — a tool
  8. cue — for pool
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. cue — a hint
  12. bass — low music
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. club — for golf
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. kick — in football
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. prune — to trim
  19. bass — the fish
  20. file — a document
  21. degree — temperature
  22. degree — an amount
  23. club — for dancing
  24. file — a line of people

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