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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. object — an aim
  3. wound — an injury
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. hand — in cards
  6. object — to protest
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. hand — help
  9. pitch — completely
  10. degree — temperature
  11. chair — a leader
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. degree — an amount
  17. present — the time now
  18. pass — a permit
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. present — there
  22. degree — from a university
  23. object — a thing
  24. wound — an injury

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