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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: leaves · plane · pitch · race · degree · hand · bear · chair

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. degree — temperature
  4. degree — an amount
  5. bear — the animal
  6. race — a contest
  7. pitch — completely
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. bear — the animal
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. race — humankind
  14. hand — in cards
  15. hand — help
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. degree — from a university
  18. plane — a tool
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. chair — a leader
  23. race — the arms race
  24. leaves — of a tree

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