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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. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. tear — from crying
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. kick — in football
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. tear — from crying
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. capital — money
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. tear — to rip
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. scale — in music
  19. fine — all right
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. capital — a city
  22. scale — size or range
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. fine — high quality

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