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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. present — a gift
  3. present — the time now
  4. present — there
  5. drill — a practice
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. cell — a phone
  8. cap — a lid
  9. pitch — completely
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. ball — a dance
  12. cell — in biology
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. ball — a great time
  15. degree — from a university
  16. rash — a series
  17. cap — a hat
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. degree — temperature
  20. drill — the tool
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. cap — of ice
  23. degree — an amount
  24. drill — army training

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