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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. deal — to handle
  3. capital — a city
  4. field — a subject
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. field — for sport
  7. face — part of the head
  8. band — a music group
  9. face — to point toward
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. mine — for digging
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. band — a ring
  19. face — to confront
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. field — farmland
  23. capital — money
  24. pitch — completely

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