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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. rock — music
  3. squash — to crush
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. rock — a stone
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. cell — a phone
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. degree — an amount
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. degree — temperature
  17. pitch — completely
  18. cell — in biology
  19. deal — to handle
  20. degree — from a university
  21. perch — the fish
  22. squash — the sport
  23. stand — to bear
  24. perch — for a bird

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