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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. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. bass — low music
  3. bass — the fish
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. present — a gift
  6. branch — a division
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. degree — from a university
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. present — there
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. pitch — completely
  17. wind — moving air
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. present — the time now
  20. safe — a strongbox
  21. degree — an amount
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. degree — temperature

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