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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: date · plane · mug · sharp · tear · degree · track · pitch

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. track — a song
  3. mug — a face
  4. tear — to rip
  5. degree — an amount
  6. track — a path
  7. track — to keep track
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. tear — from crying
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. plane — a tool
  16. mug — to rob
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. degree — from a university
  19. date — the fruit
  20. degree — temperature
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. tear — from crying
  23. pitch — completely
  24. mug — a cup

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