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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: present · chest · degree · kick · shower · pitch

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. present — a gift
  3. shower — rain
  4. chest — a box
  5. chest — of your body
  6. pitch — completely
  7. chest — of your body
  8. degree — an amount
  9. degree — from a university
  10. present — there
  11. shower — to wash
  12. degree — temperature
  13. present — the time now
  14. kick — in football
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. kick — with a leg

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