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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 120 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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. capital — a city
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. swing — to play on
  5. swing — music
  6. clip — for paper
  7. pit — a hole
  8. clip — to cut
  9. pop — to visit
  10. clip — a video
  11. capital — money
  12. pit — in a race
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. pop — music
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. swing — in golf
  18. last — final
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. mark — a trace
  21. pitch — completely
  22. mark — a grade
  23. pop — soda
  24. last — finally

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