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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. pop — soda
  3. wind — moving air
  4. vault — a safe
  5. content — the amount
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. pitch — completely
  8. scale — size or range
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. degree — from a university
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. content — happy
  16. scale — in music
  17. pop — to visit
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. degree — temperature
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. pop — music
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. wind — moving air
  24. degree — an amount

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