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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.

Words on the sheet
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: file · pitch · lash · stem · clip · can · degree · net

  1. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. net — for catching
  5. degree — temperature
  6. can — a tin
  7. net — after costs
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. degree — from a university
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. file — a tool
  14. file — a document
  15. can — a tin
  16. clip — to cut
  17. stem — to come from
  18. file — a line of people
  19. net — in sport
  20. pitch — completely
  21. degree — an amount
  22. clip — a video
  23. clip — for paper
  24. pitch — a sports field

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