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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. content — happy
  4. fine — high quality
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. capital — a city
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. fine — all right
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. press — newspapers
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. toast — bread
  15. wake — a trail
  16. press — a publisher
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. press — to push
  20. perch — the fish
  21. pitch — completely
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. content — the amount
  24. capital — money

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