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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. spring — the season
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. spring — a coil
  6. bear — the animal
  7. degree — temperature
  8. snap — to click
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. spring — of water
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. can — to be able to
  14. can — a tin
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. bear — the animal
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. degree — an amount
  20. scale — size or range
  21. pitch — completely
  22. scale — in music
  23. degree — from a university
  24. can — a tin

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