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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 players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. mug — a cup
  3. mug — a face
  4. mug — to rob
  5. capital — a city
  6. season — of the year
  7. wake — a trail
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. sharp — clever
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. pitch — completely
  15. row — a line
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. season — in sport
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. capital — money
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. row — to paddle

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