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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. degree — an amount
  3. degree — from a university
  4. march — the month
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. kid — to tease
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. court — of a king
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. kid — child
  13. charge — in control
  14. charge — a price
  15. court — for sport
  16. march — music
  17. lie — to recline
  18. degree — temperature
  19. march — the month
  20. pitch — completely
  21. court — of law
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. charge — electricity
  24. lie — an untruth

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