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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. race — humankind
  3. pop — music
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. wake — a trail
  8. scale — in music
  9. race — a contest
  10. pitch — completely
  11. pop — soda
  12. capital — a city
  13. capital — money
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. fall — to drop
  16. fall — to drop
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. scale — size or range
  19. race — the arms race
  20. bark — to shout
  21. pop — to visit
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. fall — the season
  24. wake — before a funeral

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