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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. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  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. pitch — completely
  2. object — a thing
  3. pound — a weight
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. degree — temperature
  7. capital — a city
  8. kid — to tease
  9. degree — an amount
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. bulb — for light
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. degree — from a university
  15. kid — child
  16. object — an aim
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. bulb — for light
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. object — to protest
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  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