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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: ball · arm · kid · degree · pitch · stock · vault · patient

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. ball — a great time
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. degree — from a university
  6. degree — an amount
  7. ball — a dance
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. stock — shares
  11. degree — temperature
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. kid — child
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. pitch — completely
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. vault — a safe
  23. kid — to tease
  24. stock — goods

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