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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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. rush — hurry
  3. club — a group
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. pitch — completely
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. capital — a city
  8. snap — to click
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. club — for dancing
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. shower — to wash
  13. field — farmland
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. field — a subject
  17. shower — rain
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. capital — money
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. field — for sport
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. club — for golf

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