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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 120 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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. pit — in a race
  4. capital — a city
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. net — after costs
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. capital — money
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. pop — to visit
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. cold — an illness
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. pop — soda
  17. pit — a hole
  18. pitch — completely
  19. cold — not warm
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. net — for catching
  22. pop — music
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. net — in sport

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