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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. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. cell — a phone
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. bat — the animal
  7. swing — in golf
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. cell — in biology
  10. swing — to play on
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. degree — an amount
  17. degree — from a university
  18. swing — music
  19. degree — temperature
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. pass — a permit
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. mouse — for a computer

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