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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. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. bulb — for light
  6. cold — not warm
  7. lie — to recline
  8. cold — an illness
  9. capital — a city
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. kid — to tease
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. kid — child
  18. pitch — completely
  19. branch — a division
  20. bulb — for light
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. capital — money

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