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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: degree · net · kick · field · pitch · fine · ball · wake

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. pitch — completely
  4. ball — a dance
  5. degree — an amount
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. field — farmland
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. field — a subject
  10. field — for sport
  11. net — after costs
  12. degree — from a university
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. kick — in football
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. fine — high quality
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. fine — all right
  20. net — in sport
  21. net — for catching
  22. degree — temperature
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. wake — a trail

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