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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. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — for spectators
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. stand — to bear
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. pitch — completely
  6. club — for dancing
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. wound — an injury
  9. degree — from a university
  10. wound — an injury
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. shower — to wash
  13. band — a music group
  14. mine — for digging
  15. degree — an amount
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. club — for golf
  19. degree — temperature
  20. shower — rain
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. band — a ring
  23. club — a group
  24. band — a rubber band

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