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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 polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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. cap — of ice
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. chest — a box
  9. degree — an amount
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. fine — all right
  12. chest — of your body
  13. cap — a lid
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. fine — high quality
  16. chest — of your body
  17. craft — a skill
  18. cap — a hat
  19. degree — from a university
  20. pitch — completely
  21. wake — a trail
  22. degree — temperature
  23. craft — boats
  24. fine — a penalty

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