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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 polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. pitch — completely
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. tear — from crying
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. tear — from crying
  11. cap — a lid
  12. capital — a city
  13. game — a match
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. spring — of water
  16. tear — to rip
  17. game — wild animals
  18. cap — a hat
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. capital — money
  21. spring — the season
  22. deal — to handle
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. spring — a coil

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