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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. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. fork — in a road
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. capital — a city
  7. cell — a phone
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. capital — money
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. perch — the fish
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. dip — to sink
  23. cell — in biology
  24. dip — to dunk

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