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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. land — a country
  4. mate — a friend
  5. mate — a partner
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. kid — to tease
  8. pitch — completely
  9. cap — a lid
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. cap — of ice
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. cap — a hat
  16. pound — a weight
  17. degree — an amount
  18. land — ground
  19. degree — temperature
  20. kid — child
  21. land — to come down
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. degree — from a university
  24. mate — to breed

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