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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: degree · pop · firm · prune · bass · safe · pitch · roll

  1. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. pop — to visit
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. prune — to trim
  5. degree — temperature
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. firm — decided
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. degree — from a university
  13. roll — a cake
  14. pop — music
  15. firm — steady
  16. degree — an amount
  17. safe — a strongbox
  18. pop — soda
  19. bass — low music
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. pitch — completely
  22. bass — the fish
  23. prune — to trim
  24. roll — a list

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