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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 116 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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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: stem · pitch · bay · craft · tear · rash · degree · last

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. last — final
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. degree — temperature
  8. tear — to rip
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. last — finally
  11. tear — from crying
  12. degree — from a university
  13. stem — to come from
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. last — to go on
  16. craft — boats
  17. craft — a skill
  18. rash — a series
  19. rash — hasty
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. tear — from crying
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. pitch — completely
  24. degree — an amount

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