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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 116 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: pitch · wind · degree · fan · spring · track · content · board

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. degree — an amount
  4. track — to keep track
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. track — a song
  9. spring — of water
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. wind — moving air
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. track — a path
  14. spring — the season
  15. content — the amount
  16. degree — temperature
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. spring — a coil
  19. board — a committee
  20. wind — moving air
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. content — happy
  23. board — to get on
  24. pitch — completely

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