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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. content — happy
  3. fall — the season
  4. lean — to bend
  5. degree — temperature
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. bulb — for light
  10. bulb — for light
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. degree — from a university
  13. lean — thin
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. fall — to drop
  19. content — the amount
  20. fall — to drop
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. pitch — completely
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. racket — for tennis

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