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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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468
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: kick · row · pitch · mine · mouse · spell · degree · patient

  1. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. degree — an amount
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. degree — temperature
  6. row — to paddle
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. degree — from a university
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. spell — magic
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. spell — letters
  20. row — a line
  21. kick — in football
  22. mine — for digging
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. pitch — completely

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