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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. race — a contest
  3. race — the arms race
  4. race — humankind
  5. tear — from crying
  6. season — of the year
  7. bound — tied together
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. season — in sport
  13. capital — money
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. tear — from crying
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. bound — certain
  18. capital — a city
  19. tear — to rip
  20. perch — the fish
  21. bound — obliged
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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