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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  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. degree — from a university
  2. shower — rain
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. band — a ring
  6. pop — soda
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. pass — a permit
  9. field — for sport
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. pop — to visit
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. pop — music
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. band — a music group
  19. field — a subject
  20. degree — an amount
  21. shower — to wash
  22. field — farmland
  23. pitch — completely
  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