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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  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. racket — for tennis
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. content — the amount
  6. ground — the earth
  7. ground — crushed
  8. content — happy
  9. degree — from a university
  10. last — to go on
  11. last — finally
  12. degree — an amount
  13. pass — a permit
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. pitch — completely
  17. degree — temperature
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. ground — a position
  20. last — final
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. content — videos and posts
  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