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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. ground — the earth
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. pitch — completely
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. ground — crushed
  11. root — the cause
  12. root — of a plant
  13. stock — goods
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. content — the amount
  16. capital — money
  17. capital — a city
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. root — of a word
  21. stock — shares
  22. ground — a position
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. pitch — a sports field

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