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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 120 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: ground · kid · swing · lie · pitch · degree · bulb · mouse

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. ground — crushed
  4. bulb — for light
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. swing — music
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. pitch — completely
  11. swing — to play on
  12. degree — temperature
  13. lie — to recline
  14. degree — an amount
  15. degree — from a university
  16. kid — child
  17. kid — to tease
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. ground — the earth
  20. swing — in golf
  21. bulb — for light
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. mouse — the animal

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