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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: degree · bat · tear · lean · pit · pitch

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. pit — in a race
  4. tear — from crying
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. degree — from a university
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. pitch — completely
  9. degree — temperature
  10. lean — to bend
  11. pit — a hole
  12. lean — thin
  13. degree — an amount
  14. bat — the animal
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tear — to rip

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