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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. degree — temperature
  3. pitch — completely
  4. degree — from a university
  5. degree — an amount
  6. file — a tool
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. pit — in a race
  9. rest — what's left
  10. file — a line of people
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. pit — a hole
  15. cold — an illness
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. rest — what's left
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. cold — not warm
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. file — a document
  24. rest — a break

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