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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 120 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: trunk · row · hand · pitch · ball · degree · ruler · tube

  1. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — for measuring
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. row — a line
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. tube — the underground
  6. degree — temperature
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. degree — an amount
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. hand — in cards
  12. ball — a great time
  13. row — to paddle
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. degree — from a university
  16. ball — a dance
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. tube — a container
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. pitch — completely
  23. hand — help
  24. trunk — of a tree

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