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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 120 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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. season — in sport
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. pound — a weight
  9. degree — temperature
  10. chest — a box
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. bass — low music
  13. field — a subject
  14. pitch — completely
  15. field — farmland
  16. wake — a trail
  17. season — of the year
  18. degree — an amount
  19. chest — of your body
  20. bass — the fish
  21. field — for sport
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. degree — from a university
  24. chest — of your body

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