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

Word bank: cold · bore · degree · pitch · bank · bowl

  1. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. cold — not warm
  3. bank — for money
  4. cold — an illness
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. degree — from a university
  8. bank — of a river
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. bore — to drill
  12. bank — for money
  13. degree — an amount
  14. degree — temperature
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. bore — to tire

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