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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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. bear — the animal
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. capital — a city
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wound — an injury
  9. row — a line
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. pitch — completely
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. row — to paddle
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. scale — size or range
  16. bear — the animal
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. capital — money
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. bore — to drill
  23. bore — to tire
  24. pitch — a sports field

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