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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. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. capital — a city
  3. mark — a grade
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. ground — a position
  6. cold — an illness
  7. swing — in golf
  8. mate — to breed
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. mate — a partner
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. swing — music
  13. cold — not warm
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. mate — a friend
  16. ground — the earth
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. pitch — completely
  19. ground — crushed
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. capital — money
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. stand — to bear
  24. swing — to play on

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