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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: sharp · pitch · last · tear · mate · snap · degree · pop

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. mate — a friend
  5. last — to go on
  6. tear — from crying
  7. last — final
  8. last — finally
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. pop — soda
  11. pitch — completely
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. degree — from a university
  14. tear — from crying
  15. sharp — clever
  16. pop — music
  17. tear — to rip
  18. mate — to breed
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. mate — a partner
  22. degree — temperature
  23. snap — to click
  24. degree — an amount

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