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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 120 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: pitcher · mate · bowl · march · chest · calf · present · degree

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. present — a gift
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. march — the month
  7. march — music
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. mate — a friend
  10. march — the month
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. present — there
  14. degree — from a university
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. chest — of your body
  17. present — the time now
  18. mate — a partner
  19. mate — to breed
  20. chest — a box
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. degree — temperature
  23. degree — an amount
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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