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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.

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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: pitch · press · current · tube · clip · bear · degree · kid

  1. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. press — a publisher
  3. current — happening now
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. press — newspapers
  6. pitch — completely
  7. press — to push
  8. bear — the animal
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. bear — the animal
  11. clip — to cut
  12. clip — for paper
  13. kid — child
  14. degree — from a university
  15. tube — the underground
  16. current — of water
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. tube — a container
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. degree — temperature
  21. degree — an amount
  22. kid — to tease
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. clip — a video

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