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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 players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. ground — a position
  5. sharp — clever
  6. ground — the earth
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. ground — crushed
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. shower — to wash
  14. shower — rain
  15. rush — hurry
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. capital — money
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. jam — to spread on bread
  21. deal — to handle
  22. pitch — completely
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. capital — a city

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