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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: stick · present · shower · mine · safe · degree · march · pitch

  1. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. present — the time now
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. present — a gift
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. mine — for digging
  8. march — music
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. march — the month
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. degree — an amount
  13. present — there
  14. degree — from a university
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. shower — rain
  18. march — the month
  19. degree — temperature
  20. shower — to wash
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. pitch — completely
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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