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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. saw — the tool
  3. saw — the tool
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. mine — for digging
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. board — to get on
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. degree — temperature
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. degree — an amount
  16. board — a committee
  17. pitch — completely
  18. present — the time now
  19. wake — a trail
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. dip — to sink
  22. degree — from a university
  23. present — a gift
  24. dip — to dunk

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