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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. rule — a law
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. rule — government
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. degree — temperature
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. pass — a permit
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. stem — to come from
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. squash — to crush
  15. squash — the sport
  16. pitch — completely
  17. degree — from a university
  18. pass — to spend time

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