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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. pop — to visit
  4. bat — the animal
  5. mate — to breed
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. tube — the underground
  9. pop — music
  10. pitch — completely
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. mate — a friend
  16. wound — an injury
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. wound — an injury
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. capital — a city
  21. tube — a container
  22. mate — a partner
  23. capital — money
  24. pop — soda

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