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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. cap — a hat
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. bound — certain
  6. wound — an injury
  7. cap — a lid
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. cold — not warm
  10. pitch — completely
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. bound — tied together
  14. plane — a tool
  15. capital — a city
  16. cold — an illness
  17. cap — of ice
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. bound — obliged
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. capital — money
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. wound — an injury

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