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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: snap · cold · bound · rock · mate · pitch · capital · stand

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. capital — money
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. bound — tied together
  6. snap — to click
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. stand — to bear
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. rock — a stone
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. capital — a city
  15. bound — certain
  16. mate — a partner
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. mate — a friend
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. pitch — completely
  21. cold — not warm
  22. bound — obliged
  23. mate — to breed
  24. cold — an illness

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