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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. capital — money
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. mug — to rob
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. mug — a cup
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. sharp — clever
  12. saw — the tool
  13. fall — to drop
  14. pitch — completely
  15. fall — the season
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. bat — the animal
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. fall — to drop
  21. mug — a face
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. capital — a city
  24. saw — the tool

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