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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: pitch · temple · degree · swing · kid · bear · land · wake

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. swing — to play on
  3. land — ground
  4. kid — to tease
  5. bear — the animal
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. swing — in golf
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. pitch — completely
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. wake — a trail
  13. land — a country
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. degree — from a university
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. bear — the animal
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. swing — music
  21. degree — temperature
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. kid — child
  24. land — to come down

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