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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: pitch · land · race · bank · degree · clip · mug · pound

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. clip — to cut
  3. bank — of a river
  4. degree — from a university
  5. race — the arms race
  6. pitch — completely
  7. bank — for money
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. race — humankind
  10. mug — a face
  11. degree — temperature
  12. degree — an amount
  13. mug — to rob
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. clip — a video
  17. land — to come down
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. land — a country
  20. clip — for paper
  21. pound — a weight
  22. mug — a cup
  23. land — ground
  24. bank — for money

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