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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 room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. land — a country
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. degree — from a university
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. spell — a short time
  8. degree — temperature
  9. rush — hurry
  10. land — to come down
  11. court — for sport
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. shower — rain
  14. court — of a king
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. spell — letters
  17. degree — an amount
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. spell — magic
  20. land — ground
  21. bat — the animal
  22. court — of law
  23. shower — to wash
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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