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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. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. ground — a position
  3. field — farmland
  4. shower — to wash
  5. fall — to drop
  6. ground — the earth
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. press — newspapers
  10. pitch — completely
  11. shower — rain
  12. field — for sport
  13. press — to push
  14. ground — crushed
  15. degree — temperature
  16. degree — an amount
  17. fall — to drop
  18. press — a publisher
  19. fall — the season
  20. degree — from a university
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. field — a subject
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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