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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 120 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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. bound — obliged
  4. mark — a trace
  5. can — a tin
  6. can — to be able to
  7. pitch — completely
  8. can — a tin
  9. degree — from a university
  10. degree — temperature
  11. content — the amount
  12. bound — certain
  13. ground — the earth
  14. ground — crushed
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. content — happy
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. ground — a position
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. bound — tied together
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. mark — a grade
  24. content — videos and posts

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