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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. cap — a lid
  5. row — a line
  6. swing — in golf
  7. pop — soda
  8. pop — music
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. swing — music
  11. fine — all right
  12. row — to paddle
  13. pitch — completely
  14. pop — to visit
  15. swing — to play on
  16. degree — an amount
  17. degree — from a university
  18. cap — a hat
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. fine — high quality
  23. degree — temperature
  24. cap — of ice

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