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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: cell · sharp · dip · degree · race · pitch

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. pitch — completely
  4. degree — from a university
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. cell — a phone
  7. race — humankind
  8. degree — temperature
  9. cell — in biology
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. dip — to sink
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. race — a contest
  14. race — the arms race
  15. degree — an amount
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. sharp — exactly

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