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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. swing — to play on
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. hand — help
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. degree — temperature
  9. hand — in cards
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. pitch — completely
  13. swing — music
  14. prune — to trim
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. swing — in golf
  18. degree — from a university
  19. prune — to trim
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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