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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: tear · pitch · degree · board · chest · toast

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. tear — from crying
  3. board — to get on
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. degree — an amount
  6. chest — of your body
  7. chest — a box
  8. pitch — completely
  9. chest — of your body
  10. toast — bread
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. tear — to rip
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. degree — temperature
  15. tear — from crying
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. board — a committee

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