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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. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. degree — temperature
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. kid — child
  6. bass — low music
  7. charge — in control
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. press — to push
  10. bass — the fish
  11. charge — electricity
  12. degree — an amount
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. kid — to tease
  15. game — a match
  16. press — newspapers
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. game — wild animals
  19. charge — a price
  20. plane — a tool
  21. degree — from a university
  22. press — a publisher
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. pitch — completely

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