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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. bank — of a river
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. degree — temperature
  6. degree — from a university
  7. bank — for money
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. degree — an amount
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. scale — in music
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. plane — a tool
  14. game — a match
  15. scale — size or range
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. branch — a division
  20. bank — for money
  21. pitch — completely
  22. game — wild animals
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. scale — for weighing

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