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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 116 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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. degree — temperature
  4. pop — soda
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. pop — to visit
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. pitch — completely
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. bass — the fish
  11. drill — a practice
  12. pop — music
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. degree — from a university
  20. drill — the tool
  21. bass — low music
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. drill — army training

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