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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: hide · degree · spring · board · rush · kick · pitch · fine

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. board — a committee
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. degree — temperature
  8. rush — hurry
  9. fine — high quality
  10. pitch — completely
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. board — to get on
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. fine — all right
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. degree — from a university
  19. spring — of water
  20. spring — a coil
  21. spring — the season
  22. kick — in football
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. degree — an amount

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