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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: pitch · bound · content · fan · degree · swing · bear · rest

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. content — happy
  4. content — the amount
  5. degree — an amount
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. swing — to play on
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. bound — tied together
  10. rest — what's left
  11. swing — in golf
  12. degree — from a university
  13. degree — temperature
  14. bound — certain
  15. bear — the animal
  16. rest — what's left
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. swing — music
  19. pitch — completely
  20. rest — a break
  21. bear — the animal
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. bound — obliged
  24. fan — a supporter

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