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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. pound — a weight
  4. cue — a signal
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. rest — what's left
  7. degree — an amount
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. degree — temperature
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. rest — what's left
  13. cue — for pool
  14. cue — a hint
  15. hand — in cards
  16. hand — help
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. current — happening now
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. pitch — completely
  21. rest — a break
  22. current — of water
  23. degree — from a university
  24. current — electric

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