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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 120 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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. pitch — completely
  3. kid — child
  4. file — a document
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. file — a line of people
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. lean — to bend
  9. lean — thin
  10. wake — a trail
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. capital — a city
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. scale — size or range
  16. kid — to tease
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. capital — money
  19. scale — in music
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. file — a tool
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. scale — for weighing

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