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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. net — in sport
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. capital — money
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. pitch — completely
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. capital — a city
  10. rest — what's left
  11. wake — a trail
  12. net — after costs
  13. court — of a king
  14. court — of law
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. net — for catching
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. court — for sport
  19. rest — what's left
  20. mine — for digging
  21. rest — a break
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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