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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: wind · row · clip · pitch · bulb · degree · ruler · season

  1. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. row — to paddle
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. season — in sport
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. season — of the year
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. row — a line
  13. bulb — for light
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. clip — to cut
  17. clip — a video
  18. degree — from a university
  19. degree — temperature
  20. wind — moving air
  21. bulb — for light
  22. wind — moving air
  23. degree — an amount
  24. clip — for paper

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