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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. land — to come down
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. land — a country
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. last — finally
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. last — final
  12. squash — to crush
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. capital — money
  15. capital — a city
  16. wind — moving air
  17. pitch — completely
  18. mark — a trace
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. last — to go on
  21. wind — moving air
  22. mark — a grade
  23. land — ground
  24. squash — the sport

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