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

  1. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. season — of the year
  4. capital — a city
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. mug — to rob
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. mug — a cup
  9. pitch — completely
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. season — in sport
  12. mug — a face
  13. clip — for paper
  14. clip — a video
  15. clip — to cut
  16. capital — money
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. pitch — a sports field

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