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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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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: chair · nail · pitch · stick · degree · present

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. chair — a leader
  3. pitch — completely
  4. present — a gift
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. present — there
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. degree — from a university
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. present — the time now
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. degree — an amount
  18. degree — temperature

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