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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 120 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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. last — to go on
  5. pitch — completely
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. capital — a city
  8. capital — money
  9. club — for dancing
  10. safe — a strongbox
  11. club — for golf
  12. pit — in a race
  13. pit — a hole
  14. degree — an amount
  15. degree — from a university
  16. club — a group
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. last — final
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. degree — temperature
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. last — finally

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