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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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: board · cold · rock · pitch · cabinet · ground · face · capital

  1. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. face — to confront
  3. ground — crushed
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. pitch — completely
  8. face — part of the head
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. cold — an illness
  11. board — to get on
  12. board — a committee
  13. capital — money
  14. capital — a city
  15. ground — a position
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. face — to point toward
  20. rock — a stone
  21. cold — not warm
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. rock — music
  24. ground — the earth

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