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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. pitch — completely
  3. degree — from a university
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. fall — to drop
  6. fall — the season
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. degree — an amount
  10. lean — to bend
  11. degree — temperature
  12. content — happy
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. content — the amount
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. fall — to drop
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. racket — a loud noise

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