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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. snap — to click
  3. degree — from a university
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. pop — to visit
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. rock — music
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. sharp — clever
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. degree — temperature
  17. pop — soda
  18. pop — music
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. pitch — completely
  21. degree — an amount
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. rock — a stone
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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