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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
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 · racket · mine · mate · branch · degree · march · bass

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. pitch — completely
  3. branch — a division
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. bass — low music
  6. mate — to breed
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. mine — for digging
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. degree — from a university
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. mate — a friend
  17. bass — the fish
  18. march — the month
  19. degree — temperature
  20. march — music
  21. march — the month
  22. mate — a partner
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. mine — an explosive

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