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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 players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. mug — a face
  4. chest — of your body
  5. club — a group
  6. spring — a coil
  7. club — for dancing
  8. mug — a cup
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. chest — a box
  11. spring — the season
  12. degree — from a university
  13. chest — of your body
  14. mug — to rob
  15. bound — tied together
  16. club — for golf
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. bound — obliged
  19. date — the fruit
  20. bound — certain
  21. degree — an amount
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. degree — temperature
  24. spring — of water

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