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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. pitch — completely
  3. firm — decided
  4. sharp — clever
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. ground — a position
  7. ground — the earth
  8. ground — crushed
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. degree — from a university
  11. bass — the fish
  12. firm — a company
  13. bass — low music
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. saw — the tool
  16. bat — the animal
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. degree — an amount
  19. saw — the tool
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. firm — steady
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. degree — temperature
  24. bat — in an idiom

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