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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. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  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 — a sports field
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. degree — from a university
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. court — of law
  6. degree — an amount
  7. court — of a king
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. court — for sport
  10. net — after costs
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. degree — temperature
  13. net — in sport
  14. mark — a grade
  15. pitch — completely
  16. snap — to click
  17. net — for catching
  18. object — to protest
  19. mark — a trace
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. object — a thing
  23. object — an aim
  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