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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. bank — of a river
  4. pitch — completely
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. board — to get on
  10. face — to confront
  11. swing — in golf
  12. capital — money
  13. swing — music
  14. bank — for money
  15. capital — a city
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. face — part of the head
  18. bat — the animal
  19. face — to point toward
  20. board — a committee
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. swing — to play on
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. bank — for money

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