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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. capital — money
  3. key — for a lock
  4. cold — not warm
  5. prune — to trim
  6. pitch — completely
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. prune — to trim
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. capital — a city
  16. key — in music
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. key — the most important part
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. cold — an illness
  24. perch — the fish

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