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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. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. court — of law
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. ball — a great time
  8. capital — money
  9. shower — to wash
  10. mark — a grade
  11. court — for sport
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. march — the month
  15. mark — a trace
  16. shower — rain
  17. march — the month
  18. march — music
  19. stem — to come from
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. capital — a city
  23. ball — a dance
  24. court — of a king

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