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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 116 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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. mine — for digging
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. pass — a permit
  5. pitch — completely
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. bore — to drill
  8. bore — to tire
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. race — humankind
  11. hand — help
  12. race — a contest
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. race — the arms race
  15. face — to point toward
  16. degree — an amount
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. face — to confront
  19. hand — in cards
  20. degree — temperature
  21. degree — from a university
  22. face — part of the head
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. bore — gave birth

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