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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. pop — soda
  3. lie — to recline
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. tear — to rip
  9. pop — to visit
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. swing — in golf
  12. swing — to play on
  13. capital — money
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. tear — from crying
  18. pitch — completely
  19. season — of the year
  20. chair — a leader
  21. tear — from crying
  22. swing — music
  23. season — in sport
  24. capital — a city

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