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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 · bore · degree · kick · mate · stick

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  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. kick — with a leg
  2. mate — a friend
  3. degree — from a university
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. mate — a partner
  7. kick — in football
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. degree — temperature
  14. pitch — completely
  15. mate — to breed
  16. degree — an amount
  17. bore — to tire
  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