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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: bank · mine · degree · wave · pitch · fall · roll · craft

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. bank — of a river
  5. fall — to drop
  6. fall — to drop
  7. roll — a cake
  8. bank — for money
  9. mine — for digging
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. craft — a skill
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. degree — temperature
  16. degree — from a university
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. fall — the season
  19. bank — for money
  20. roll — a list
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. craft — boats
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. pitch — completely

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