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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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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: perch · swing · pitch · race · degree · craft · bound · wind

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. bound — certain
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. swing — music
  5. craft — a skill
  6. degree — an amount
  7. perch — the fish
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. race — a contest
  11. bound — obliged
  12. race — humankind
  13. pitch — completely
  14. race — the arms race
  15. bound — tied together
  16. degree — temperature
  17. swing — in golf
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. wind — moving air
  20. degree — from a university
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. swing — to play on
  23. wind — moving air
  24. craft — boats

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