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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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. scale — in music
  3. capital — money
  4. perch — the fish
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. clip — to cut
  7. pit — a hole
  8. march — the month
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. march — the month
  11. pitch — completely
  12. capital — a city
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. mark — a grade
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. march — music
  17. mark — a trace
  18. pit — in a race
  19. scale — size or range
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. clip — for paper
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. clip — a video

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