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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: bat · fan · degree · rush · race · pitch · bore · board

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. race — a contest
  3. pitch — completely
  4. bore — to tire
  5. bat — the animal
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. rush — hurry
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. degree — temperature
  10. race — the arms race
  11. bore — to drill
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. degree — an amount
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. degree — from a university
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. board — to get on
  20. race — humankind
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. board — a committee

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