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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 room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. stand — to bear
  3. race — the arms race
  4. pop — music
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. race — a contest
  7. cold — not warm
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. degree — an amount
  11. degree — temperature
  12. pop — soda
  13. spell — magic
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. race — humankind
  17. pop — to visit
  18. spell — a short time
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. cold — an illness
  22. degree — from a university
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. spell — letters

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