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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. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. mark — a grade
  5. mark — a trace
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. cell — a phone
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. capital — money
  10. cold — not warm
  11. pitch — completely
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. cell — in biology
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. chair — a leader
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. capital — a city
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. cold — an illness

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