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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.

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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: ground · degree · stand · tear · straw · pitch · rest · trunk

  1. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — for spectators
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. degree — an amount
  4. degree — from a university
  5. ground — the earth
  6. tear — from crying
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. ground — a position
  9. rest — a break
  10. rest — what's left
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. stand — to bear
  13. degree — temperature
  14. pitch — completely
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. tear — from crying
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. tear — to rip
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. ground — crushed
  22. rest — what's left
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. stand — on your feet

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