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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: pitcher · swing · coach · degree · chair · bound · kid · kick

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. degree — from a university
  3. degree — an amount
  4. swing — in golf
  5. chair — a leader
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. bound — obliged
  9. bound — certain
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. kid — to tease
  12. swing — music
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. swing — to play on
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. kid — child
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. degree — temperature
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. kick — in football
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. bound — tied together
  24. chair — to sit on

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