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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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468
Word bank
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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. degree — an amount
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. last — finally
  6. degree — temperature
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. pass — a permit
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. degree — from a university
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. kid — to tease
  14. capital — money
  15. kid — child
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. content — happy
  18. capital — a city
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. content — the amount
  21. last — final
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. pitch — completely
  24. capital — a big letter

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