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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. staff — a stick
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. staff — employees
  8. cap — a hat
  9. rash — hasty
  10. mate — a friend
  11. cap — of ice
  12. pitch — completely
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. tube — a container
  16. cap — a lid
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. mate — a partner
  19. rash — a series
  20. snap — to click
  21. mate — to breed
  22. capital — money
  23. tube — the underground
  24. staff — employees

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