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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. date — the fruit
  7. capital — money
  8. pitch — completely
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. snap — to click
  11. game — wild animals
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. game — a match
  19. march — the month
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. march — music
  23. date — on the calendar
  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