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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 · deal · safe · drill · race · pitch · file · hand

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. pitch — completely
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. deal — to handle
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. file — a line of people
  10. hand — help
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. race — a contest
  13. drill — army training
  14. degree — an amount
  15. degree — from a university
  16. drill — the tool
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. degree — temperature
  19. race — the arms race
  20. race — humankind
  21. drill — a practice
  22. file — a tool
  23. hand — in cards
  24. file — a document

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