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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 room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. field — for sport
  3. capital — money
  4. chip — to eat
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. prune — to trim
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. field — farmland
  11. firm — decided
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. firm — a company
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. capital — a city
  17. field — a subject
  18. firm — steady
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. chip — for betting
  23. mine — for digging
  24. prune — to trim

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