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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 116 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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. ground — crushed
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. ground — a position
  5. can — to be able to
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. pitch — completely
  8. board — to get on
  9. board — a committee
  10. wake — a trail
  11. capital — a city
  12. capital — money
  13. can — a tin
  14. present — the time now
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. present — there
  18. ground — the earth
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. can — a tin
  22. prune — to trim
  23. present — a gift
  24. board — a flat piece

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