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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 players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. mark — a grade
  4. band — a ring
  5. pitch — completely
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. degree — from a university
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. game — wild animals
  11. face — part of the head
  12. face — to confront
  13. game — a match
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. degree — an amount
  18. bat — the animal
  19. degree — temperature
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. mark — a trace
  22. face — to point toward
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. band — a music group

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