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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 120 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. sharp — clever
  4. net — for catching
  5. net — after costs
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. pitch — completely
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. net — in sport
  13. capital — a city
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. capital — money

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