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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. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. band — a music group
  3. degree — from a university
  4. drill — army training
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. drill — a practice
  7. rash — a series
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. pitch — completely
  10. degree — temperature
  11. spell — a short time
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. wake — a trail
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. spell — letters
  16. band — a ring
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. bass — the fish
  20. bass — low music
  21. spell — magic
  22. degree — an amount
  23. drill — the tool
  24. rash — hasty

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