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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. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. chip — for betting
  3. bear — the animal
  4. degree — from a university
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. degree — an amount
  7. bear — the animal
  8. chip — to eat
  9. race — the arms race
  10. race — humankind
  11. fall — the season
  12. game — a match
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. fall — to drop
  16. game — wild animals
  17. content — the amount
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. degree — temperature
  20. content — happy
  21. race — a contest
  22. fall — to drop
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. game — a kind of play

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