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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 124 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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. degree — from a university
  5. mark — a trace
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. object — an aim
  8. degree — an amount
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. land — a country
  11. object — a thing
  12. object — to protest
  13. land — ground
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. bat — the animal
  21. mark — a grade
  22. pitch — completely
  23. degree — temperature
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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