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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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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 room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. chest — of your body
  4. row — a line
  5. chest — of your body
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. degree — temperature
  8. net — in sport
  9. net — for catching
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. chest — a box
  12. net — after costs
  13. court — for sport
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. board — a committee
  16. court — of law
  17. court — of a king
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. row — to paddle
  20. degree — an amount
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. degree — from a university
  23. board — to get on
  24. board — a flat piece

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