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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 · perch · can · rush · land · degree · clip · rule

  1. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. can — to be able to
  3. land — to come down
  4. rule — government
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. land — ground
  7. degree — temperature
  8. clip — a video
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. degree — from a university
  11. can — a tin
  12. clip — for paper
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. land — a country
  16. degree — an amount
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. pitch — completely
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. rule — a law
  21. clip — to cut
  22. perch — the fish
  23. rush — hurry
  24. rush — to hurry

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