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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. ground — crushed
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. cell — a phone
  5. dip — to sink
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. tear — from crying
  8. ground — a position
  9. degree — from a university
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. tear — from crying
  12. tube — a container
  13. degree — an amount
  14. degree — temperature
  15. tear — to rip
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. tube — the underground
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. plane — a tool
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. cell — in biology
  22. ground — the earth
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. pitch — completely

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