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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. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  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. ground — a position
  3. capital — a city
  4. ground — the earth
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. cap — a hat
  8. squash — to crush
  9. mark — a trace
  10. stem — to come from
  11. track — a path
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. ground — crushed
  14. cap — a lid
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. cap — of ice
  17. squash — the sport
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. track — a song
  21. mark — a grade
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. track — to keep track
  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