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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.

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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. pitch — completely
  3. cue — a hint
  4. hand — help
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. capital — a city
  7. cue — for pool
  8. hand — in cards
  9. shower — to wash
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. shower — rain
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. stem — to come from
  17. cue — a signal
  18. capital — a big letter

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