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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 116 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: swing · scale · tear · squash · pitch · court · degree · chair

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. squash — to crush
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. degree — temperature
  5. degree — from a university
  6. tear — from crying
  7. chair — a leader
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. swing — music
  11. tear — to rip
  12. swing — to play on
  13. squash — the sport
  14. court — of law
  15. pitch — completely
  16. court — of a king
  17. degree — an amount
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. swing — in golf
  20. scale — in music
  21. scale — size or range
  22. court — for sport
  23. tear — from crying
  24. chair — a professorship

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