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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. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. press — to push
  5. stock — goods
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. stock — shares
  10. press — newspapers
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. wind — moving air
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. row — a line
  17. press — a publisher
  18. row — to paddle
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. capital — money
  24. capital — a city

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