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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 116 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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. When will it ________________ you to start?
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. degree — from a university
  6. chip — for betting
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. content — the amount
  9. degree — temperature
  10. content — happy
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. wake — a trail
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. suit — clothes
  16. chip — to eat
  17. suit — in cards
  18. game — a match
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. suit — to fit
  21. game — wild animals
  22. row — a line
  23. row — to paddle
  24. degree — an amount

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