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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 · temple · degree · swing · kid · bear

  1. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. swing — to play on
  4. degree — an amount
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. pitch — completely
  10. bear — the animal
  11. kid — to tease
  12. swing — music
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. degree — temperature
  15. degree — from a university
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. swing — in golf
  18. kid — child

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