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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. pitch — completely
  6. pit — a hole
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. capital — money
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. bulb — for light
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. fall — the season
  13. ground — crushed
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. mine — for digging
  17. fall — to drop
  18. fall — to drop
  19. bulb — for light
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. ground — the earth
  22. stem — to come from
  23. ground — a position
  24. pit — in a race

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