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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. club — for dancing
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. mark — a grade
  5. land — a country
  6. pitch — completely
  7. mark — a trace
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. land — ground
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. stand — to bear
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. club — for golf
  16. wind — moving air
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. wind — moving air
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. land — to come down
  22. club — a group
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. capital — money

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