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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 120 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. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. firm — a company
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. last — final
  6. firm — decided
  7. lean — to bend
  8. capital — money
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. last — to go on
  12. sharp — clever
  13. pitch — completely
  14. last — finally
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. firm — steady
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. capital — a city
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. lean — thin
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. bat — the animal

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