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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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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: kick · degree · rule · patient · stock · pit · chair · pitch

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. rule — government
  3. stock — goods
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. kick — in football
  7. degree — an amount
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. pitch — completely
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. pit — a hole
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. degree — from a university
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. chair — a leader
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. pit — in a race
  18. degree — temperature
  19. rule — a law
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. stock — shares
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. patient — a sick person

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