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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: degree · bore · fork · race · arm · board · wound · pitch

  1. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. race — a contest
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. pitch — completely
  6. degree — an amount
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. bore — to drill
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. wound — an injury
  13. board — to get on
  14. fork — in a road
  15. race — humankind
  16. degree — temperature
  17. board — a committee
  18. bore — to tire
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. wound — an injury
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. degree — from a university
  24. race — the arms race

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