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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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. drill — a practice
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. drill — army training
  6. pitch — completely
  7. cold — an illness
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. wake — a trail
  10. cold — not warm
  11. drill — the tool
  12. degree — an amount
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. current — happening now
  15. current — of water
  16. bat — the animal
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. degree — from a university
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. current — electric
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. degree — temperature

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