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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: pitcher · stick · nail · hand · cold · rush · degree · board

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. degree — from a university
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. hand — help
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. degree — temperature
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. cold — not warm
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. board — a committee
  17. board — to get on
  18. cold — an illness
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. hand — in cards
  22. rush — hurry
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. pitcher — a jug

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