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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. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. land — to come down
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. cell — in biology
  7. cell — a phone
  8. land — ground
  9. clip — for paper
  10. clip — a video
  11. clip — to cut
  12. toast — bread
  13. land — a country
  14. charge — a price
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. capital — money
  17. charge — electricity
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. charge — in control
  21. capital — a city
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. mouse — for a computer

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