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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 116 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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. race — the arms race
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. fall — the season
  5. charge — a price
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. rock — music
  8. degree — temperature
  9. pitch — completely
  10. rock — a stone
  11. race — a contest
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. court — of a king
  14. race — humankind
  15. fall — to drop
  16. court — of law
  17. fall — to drop
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. charge — in control
  21. degree — from a university
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. charge — electricity
  24. court — for sport

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