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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. field — for sport
  4. tear — from crying
  5. tear — from crying
  6. field — a subject
  7. ground — a position
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. vault — a safe
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. pitch — completely
  13. field — farmland
  14. dip — to sink
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. capital — money
  17. tear — to rip
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. capital — a city
  20. staff — employees
  21. staff — a stick
  22. ground — the earth
  23. staff — employees
  24. ground — crushed

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