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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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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 · kick · degree · chair · date · bore

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. date — the fruit
  3. pitch — completely
  4. chair — a leader
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. kick — in football
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. bore — to tire
  13. degree — from a university
  14. degree — temperature
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. degree — an amount
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. bore — to drill

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