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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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. object — a thing
  3. cell — a phone
  4. object — to protest
  5. capital — a city
  6. fork — in a road
  7. capital — money
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. scale — in music
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. scale — size or range
  16. cell — in biology
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. snap — to click
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. object — an aim
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. scale — for weighing

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