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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: chair · pitch · degree · season · cell · bear

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. cell — in biology
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. cell — a phone
  6. pitch — completely
  7. season — in sport
  8. bear — the animal
  9. season — of the year
  10. chair — a leader
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. degree — temperature
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. degree — from a university
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. bear — the animal

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