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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: toast · arm · land · dip · ruler · cold · pitch · capital

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. cold — an illness
  4. land — to come down
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. capital — a city
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. land — ground
  10. dip — to sink
  11. pitch — completely
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. land — a country
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. cold — not warm
  18. toast — bread
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. ruler — a monarch
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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