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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 room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. press — to push
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. degree — an amount
  5. pit — in a race
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. press — a publisher
  8. press — newspapers
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. degree — from a university
  12. pit — a hole
  13. cap — a lid
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wind — moving air
  18. degree — temperature
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. cap — a hat
  23. cap — of ice
  24. stem — to come from

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