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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 116 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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. degree — from a university
  4. pitch — completely
  5. pit — in a race
  6. shower — to wash
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. mine — for digging
  9. club — a group
  10. club — for golf
  11. drill — the tool
  12. drill — army training
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. degree — an amount
  15. degree — temperature
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. drill — a practice
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. shower — rain
  22. pit — a hole
  23. club — for dancing
  24. pass — to succeed

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