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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: mine · press · pitch · season · pitcher · race · degree · charge

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. season — of the year
  4. press — to push
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. charge — electricity
  7. race — a contest
  8. race — the arms race
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. press — newspapers
  11. mine — for digging
  12. press — a publisher
  13. degree — an amount
  14. charge — in control
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. pitch — completely
  17. degree — from a university
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. season — in sport
  20. degree — temperature
  21. race — humankind
  22. charge — a price
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. mine — an explosive

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