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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: bowl · fall · stick · pitch · degree · cap · branch · chair

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. fall — to drop
  5. degree — an amount
  6. branch — a division
  7. cap — a hat
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. cap — of ice
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. degree — temperature
  15. degree — from a university
  16. cap — a lid
  17. chair — a leader
  18. fall — the season
  19. fall — to drop
  20. pitch — completely
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. chair — a professorship

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