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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 room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. prune — to trim
  3. ball — a great time
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. drill — a practice
  7. drill — army training
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. ball — a dance
  10. sharp — clever
  11. mate — a friend
  12. degree — from a university
  13. degree — an amount
  14. mate — a partner
  15. prune — to trim
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. degree — temperature
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. drill — the tool
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. mate — to breed

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