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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. degree — from a university
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. fine — high quality
  5. can — a tin
  6. firm — steady
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. can — a tin
  9. saw — the tool
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. degree — an amount
  12. last — finally
  13. saw — the tool
  14. firm — decided
  15. wound — an injury
  16. fine — all right
  17. wound — an injury
  18. last — to go on
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. last — final
  21. can — to be able to
  22. pitch — completely
  23. firm — a company
  24. degree — temperature

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