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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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 — temperature
  4. game — wild animals
  5. degree — from a university
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. pitch — completely
  9. bank — for money
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. game — a match
  13. cold — an illness
  14. bank — of a river
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. cold — not warm
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. bank — for money
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. chest — of your body
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. chest — a box
  24. chest — of your body

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