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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: game · staff · object · pitch · pound · spring · degree · file

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. staff — employees
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. degree — from a university
  5. spring — of water
  6. file — a document
  7. staff — employees
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. file — a tool
  10. object — to protest
  11. object — a thing
  12. pound — a weight
  13. staff — a stick
  14. spring — the season
  15. degree — an amount
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. object — an aim
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. spring — a coil
  21. file — a line of people
  22. pitch — completely
  23. game — wild animals
  24. game — a match

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