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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 116 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: perch · swing · pitch · race · degree · craft

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. degree — an amount
  3. perch — the fish
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. race — the arms race
  6. swing — music
  7. swing — in golf
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. craft — a skill
  10. race — a contest
  11. swing — to play on
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. degree — temperature
  14. pitch — completely
  15. race — humankind
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. craft — boats
  18. degree — from a university

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