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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 120 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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. hand — in cards
  5. hand — help
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. tear — to rip
  8. tear — from crying
  9. pitch — completely
  10. rush — hurry
  11. degree — from a university
  12. plane — a tool
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. saw — the tool
  15. degree — temperature
  16. saw — the tool
  17. wound — an injury
  18. tear — from crying
  19. degree — an amount
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. rush — to hurry

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