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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. degree — from a university
  3. mug — a cup
  4. object — a thing
  5. rest — what's left
  6. board — to get on
  7. wind — moving air
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. rash — a series
  10. rest — what's left
  11. object — to protest
  12. rest — a break
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. object — an aim
  15. rash — hasty
  16. mug — a face
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. board — a committee
  20. pitch — completely
  21. degree — an amount
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. degree — temperature
  24. mug — to rob

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