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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: clip · pitch · swing · current · degree · stock · staff · bear

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. clip — to cut
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. current — of water
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. clip — for paper
  7. swing — in golf
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. current — happening now
  10. bear — the animal
  11. swing — music
  12. stock — goods
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. current — electric
  15. stock — shares
  16. staff — employees
  17. clip — a video
  18. pitch — completely
  19. bear — the animal
  20. staff — employees
  21. degree — an amount
  22. degree — temperature
  23. swing — to play on
  24. staff — a stick

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