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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 little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. bulb — for light
  6. bulb — for light
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. pitch — completely
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. degree — an amount
  13. file — a line of people
  14. wake — a trail
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. degree — from a university
  18. fall — to drop
  19. degree — temperature
  20. fall — the season
  21. fall — to drop
  22. file — a document
  23. file — a tool
  24. bear — the animal

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