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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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. press — a publisher
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. dip — to sink
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. hand — in cards
  9. press — newspapers
  10. degree — temperature
  11. race — humankind
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. degree — an amount
  14. bat — the animal
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. press — to push
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. pound — a weight
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. race — a contest
  21. degree — from a university
  22. hand — help
  23. race — the arms race
  24. pound — to hit hard

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