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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: net · pitch · chair · bowl · land · arm · degree · date

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. net — in sport
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. land — a country
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. land — to come down
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. degree — an amount
  12. chair — a leader
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. date — the fruit
  17. degree — from a university
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. land — ground
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. degree — temperature
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. pitch — completely
  24. net — after costs

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