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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. pitch — completely
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. cap — a lid
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. shower — to wash
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. row — a line
  12. dip — to sink
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. shower — rain
  15. bulb — for light
  16. capital — money
  17. cap — of ice
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. row — to paddle
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. bulb — for light
  23. capital — a city
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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