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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 · mine · root · rest · degree · clip · bore · fine

  1. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. mine — for digging
  3. pitch — completely
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. root — the cause
  6. fine — all right
  7. bore — to drill
  8. rest — a break
  9. root — of a plant
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. rest — what's left
  12. degree — from a university
  13. clip — to cut
  14. clip — for paper
  15. degree — temperature
  16. clip — a video
  17. bore — to tire
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. degree — an amount
  20. rest — what's left
  21. root — of a word
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. fine — high quality
  24. pitch — a sports field

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