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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. degree — from a university
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. mate — a friend
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. pitch — completely
  8. degree — temperature
  9. mate — a partner
  10. mate — to breed
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wind — moving air
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. bear — the animal
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. bear — the animal
  23. capital — money
  24. capital — a city

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