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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. track — a song
  4. track — a path
  5. pitch — completely
  6. cold — an illness
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. cold — not warm
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. track — to keep track
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. mate — a partner
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. mate — a friend
  21. perch — the fish
  22. mate — to breed
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. capital — 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