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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: kick · clip · rock · swing · pitch · degree · wave · pit

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. degree — temperature
  3. swing — to play on
  4. pit — in a race
  5. degree — from a university
  6. pit — a hole
  7. degree — an amount
  8. clip — to cut
  9. pitch — completely
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. rock — music
  12. clip — a video
  13. clip — for paper
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. rock — a stone
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. kick — in football
  22. swing — in golf
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. swing — music

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