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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: pitch · object · prune · fan · chair · degree · content · bound

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. degree — an amount
  4. degree — from a university
  5. bound — obliged
  6. prune — to trim
  7. object — an aim
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. degree — temperature
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. bound — tied together
  15. pitch — completely
  16. content — the amount
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. content — happy
  19. object — to protest
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. prune — to trim
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. bound — certain
  24. object — a thing

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