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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.

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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: rest · degree · mouse · pitcher · pitch · wave · pass · clip

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. degree — an amount
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. rest — a break
  8. degree — temperature
  9. rest — what's left
  10. rest — what's left
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. clip — a video
  13. clip — for paper
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. clip — to cut
  19. pass — a permit
  20. degree — from a university
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. pitch — completely
  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