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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. mark — a trace
  4. cap — a lid
  5. face — to confront
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. cap — a hat
  8. field — for sport
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. pitch — completely
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. wake — a trail
  14. mark — a grade
  15. face — to point toward
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. field — farmland
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. capital — money
  22. cap — of ice
  23. field — a subject
  24. face — part of the head

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