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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. rest — a break
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. cap — a hat
  10. capital — a city
  11. cap — of ice
  12. cap — a lid
  13. charge — electricity
  14. charge — a price
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. bat — the animal
  17. pitch — completely
  18. charge — in control
  19. rest — what's left
  20. wake — a trail
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. rest — what's left
  23. capital — money
  24. sharp — clever

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