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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 120 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. There's no middle ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. ground — a position
  3. ground — the earth
  4. track — a path
  5. degree — temperature
  6. kid — child
  7. drill — a practice
  8. drill — the tool
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. kid — to tease
  11. present — there
  12. last — to go on
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. last — final
  15. present — a gift
  16. last — finally
  17. degree — an amount
  18. track — a song
  19. degree — from a university
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. track — to keep track
  22. ground — crushed
  23. present — the time now
  24. drill — army training

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