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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: firm · mate · fine · kid · march · last · degree · pitch

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. march — the month
  3. last — final
  4. kid — child
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. mate — to breed
  7. march — the month
  8. mate — a friend
  9. fine — all right
  10. firm — decided
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. kid — to tease
  13. last — finally
  14. firm — a company
  15. mate — a partner
  16. fine — high quality
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. march — music
  19. pitch — completely
  20. degree — temperature
  21. degree — from a university
  22. degree — an amount
  23. last — to go on
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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