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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. cold — not warm
  3. pitch — completely
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. capital — a city
  7. capital — money
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. net — in sport
  10. band — a music group
  11. net — after costs
  12. present — the time now
  13. present — there
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. cold — an illness
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. vault — a safe
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. present — a gift
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. band — a ring
  23. net — for catching
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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