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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: drill · sharp · degree · ruler · pitch · field · pitcher · race

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. drill — a practice
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. sharp — clever
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. degree — an amount
  7. degree — temperature
  8. degree — from a university
  9. pitch — completely
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. field — for sport
  12. field — a subject
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. drill — army training
  15. race — a contest
  16. drill — the tool
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. field — farmland
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. race — the arms race
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. race — humankind

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