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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 120 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 players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. file — a line of people
  4. degree — an amount
  5. snap — to click
  6. bore — to drill
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. bore — to tire
  12. degree — temperature
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. rash — hasty
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. file — a tool
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. degree — from a university
  19. rash — a series
  20. file — a document
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. rush — hurry
  23. pitch — completely
  24. chair — a leader

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