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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 116 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: degree · club · lie · chair · fine · pitch · stick · wind

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. fine — all right
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. club — for golf
  5. degree — temperature
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. pitch — completely
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. fine — high quality
  10. club — for dancing
  11. degree — an amount
  12. degree — from a university
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. wind — moving air
  17. chair — a leader
  18. lie — to recline
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. club — a group
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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