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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. bulb — for light
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. shower — rain
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. face — to point toward
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. pitch — completely
  9. capital — money
  10. wind — moving air
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. bass — low music
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. face — to confront
  15. wind — moving air
  16. bass — the fish
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. stand — to bear
  19. bulb — for light
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. face — part of the head
  22. capital — a city
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. bulb — of a plant

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