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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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  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. pound — a weight
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. capital — a city
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. stand — to bear
  6. cell — in biology
  7. cell — a phone
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. saw — the tool
  10. scale — size or range
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. saw — the tool
  17. pitch — completely
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. scale — in music
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  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