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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: current · degree · stand · season · pitcher · wind · pitch · drill

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. degree — from a university
  3. degree — an amount
  4. drill — the tool
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. season — in sport
  7. season — of the year
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. current — of water
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. current — happening now
  12. drill — a practice
  13. pitch — completely
  14. degree — temperature
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. stand — to bear
  17. drill — army training
  18. wind — moving air
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. wind — moving air
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. current — electric

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