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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 · field · pit · straw · pitch · mate · fall

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. field — farmland
  4. field — a subject
  5. pit — in a race
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. pitch — completely
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. field — for sport
  10. degree — an amount
  11. pit — a hole
  12. bat — the animal
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. degree — temperature
  16. fall — to drop
  17. mate — to breed
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. mate — a friend
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. fall — the season
  22. mate — a partner
  23. fall — to drop
  24. degree — from a university

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