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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: fine · stick · degree · pitch · chair · clip · safe · kid

  1. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. clip — a video
  7. fine — high quality
  8. fine — all right
  9. degree — from a university
  10. degree — an amount
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. pitch — completely
  15. chair — a leader
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. clip — for paper
  19. clip — to cut
  20. kid — child
  21. kid — to tease
  22. safe — a strongbox
  23. degree — temperature
  24. fine — a penalty

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