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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 train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. capital — money
  4. stand — to bear
  5. capital — a city
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. saw — the tool
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. last — final
  14. last — to go on
  15. saw — the tool
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. season — in sport
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. prune — to trim
  21. last — finally
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. prune — to trim
  24. season — of the year

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