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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. degree — from a university
  4. bass — low music
  5. cue — for pool
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. cue — a hint
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. degree — temperature
  11. cue — a signal
  12. bass — the fish
  13. prune — to trim
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. cell — a phone
  17. stand — to bear
  18. pitch — completely
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. deal — to handle
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. prune — to trim
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. cell — in biology

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