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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 players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. capital — a city
  3. cap — a hat
  4. fall — to drop
  5. cap — a lid
  6. fall — the season
  7. fall — to drop
  8. present — a gift
  9. pitch — completely
  10. snap — to click
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. present — the time now
  15. present — there
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. capital — money
  20. cap — of ice
  21. stand — to bear
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. capital — a big letter

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