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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. swing — to play on
  3. degree — an amount
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. pop — to visit
  6. board — a committee
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. ground — the earth
  9. ground — crushed
  10. swing — in golf
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. pop — soda
  13. pop — music
  14. ground — a position
  15. snap — to click
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. board — to get on
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. degree — temperature
  20. pitch — completely
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. swing — music
  23. degree — from a university
  24. bowl — to roll

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