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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. capital — a city
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. capital — money
  10. clip — to cut
  11. board — a committee
  12. pitch — completely
  13. board — to get on
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. cell — in biology
  16. clip — for paper
  17. bound — certain
  18. bound — tied together
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. dip — to sink
  23. bound — obliged
  24. clip — a video

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