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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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. degree — an amount
  3. pit — in a race
  4. bat — the animal
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. tear — from crying
  7. tear — to rip
  8. lean — thin
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. pitch — completely
  12. degree — from a university
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. face — part of the head
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. degree — temperature
  20. face — to confront
  21. pit — a hole
  22. face — to point toward
  23. lean — to bend
  24. tear — from crying

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