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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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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 · kid · degree · kick · pound · nail · cabinet · date

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. pound — a weight
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. kick — in football
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. degree — temperature
  13. degree — an amount
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. degree — from a university
  16. kid — to tease
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. date — the fruit
  19. pitch — completely
  20. kid — child
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. nail — for a hammer

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