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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. fine — high quality
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. cold — not warm
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. cold — an illness
  12. fine — all right
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. snap — to click
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. pitch — completely
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. capital — money
  21. sharp — clever
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. capital — a city

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