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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: saw · pit · degree · row · season · can · pitch · cold

  1. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. row — to paddle
  5. saw — the tool
  6. pitch — completely
  7. pit — a hole
  8. season — of the year
  9. degree — temperature
  10. can — a tin
  11. pit — in a race
  12. cold — an illness
  13. degree — an amount
  14. cold — not warm
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. row — a line
  20. season — in sport
  21. can — to be able to
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. degree — from a university
  24. saw — the tool

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