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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. capital — a city
  4. cold — an illness
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. cold — not warm
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. bear — the animal
  12. bore — to tire
  13. pit — in a race
  14. race — a contest
  15. race — the arms race
  16. bear — the animal
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. pitch — completely
  19. bore — to drill
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. race — humankind
  22. pit — a hole
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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