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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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Word bank
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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: root · degree · shower · pitch · bound · bore · land · chair

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. bore — to tire
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. bound — obliged
  5. root — the cause
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. root — of a plant
  8. bore — to drill
  9. degree — an amount
  10. land — a country
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. bound — certain
  13. bound — tied together
  14. shower — to wash
  15. pitch — completely
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. chair — a leader
  19. root — of a word
  20. shower — rain
  21. land — to come down
  22. degree — temperature
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. land — ground

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