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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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. pitch — completely
  5. cold — not warm
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. capital — money
  8. kick — in football
  9. degree — an amount
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. pass — a permit
  14. degree — from a university
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. deal — to handle
  17. capital — a city
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. degree — temperature
  20. cold — an illness
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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