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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. season — of the year
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. season — in sport
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. capital — money
  7. mine — for digging
  8. toast — bread
  9. rule — a law
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. pound — a weight
  12. capital — a city
  13. rule — government
  14. pitch — completely
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. bat — the animal
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. toast — the most admired

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