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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. pitch — completely
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. march — the month
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. capital — money
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. kid — child
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. cell — in biology
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. kid — to tease
  15. pass — a permit
  16. march — the month
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. capital — a city
  21. pound — a weight
  22. sharp — clever
  23. cell — a phone
  24. march — music

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