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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. bat — the animal
  6. tear — to rip
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. hand — help
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. tear — from crying
  11. pit — in a race
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. capital — a city
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. mark — a grade
  16. pit — a hole
  17. tear — from crying
  18. pitch — completely
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. mark — a trace
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. hand — in cards
  24. coach — a trainer

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