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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 room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. rock — a stone
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. degree — temperature
  6. land — a country
  7. land — to come down
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. board — to get on
  12. mark — a grade
  13. file — a tool
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. perch — the fish
  16. rock — music
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. degree — from a university
  19. file — a document
  20. land — ground
  21. board — a committee
  22. file — a line of people
  23. degree — an amount
  24. mark — a trace

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