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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. wind — moving air
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. wind — moving air
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. capital — money
  18. bulb — for light
  19. bulb — for light
  20. capital — a city
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. wake — a trail
  23. pitch — completely
  24. mine — for digging

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