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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: spring · temple · ruler · pitch · mate · chest · stand · degree

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  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. mate — to breed
  2. degree — from a university
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. mate — a partner
  7. mate — a friend
  8. spring — a coil
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. spring — of water
  11. spring — the season
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. chest — a box
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. stand — to bear
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. chest — of your body
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. degree — an amount
  21. degree — temperature
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. chest — of your body
  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