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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: bat · capital · present · pitch · cell · mug · stand · kick

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. stand — to bear
  3. pitch — completely
  4. mug — to rob
  5. mug — a face
  6. present — the time now
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. capital — money
  9. cell — a phone
  10. kick — in football
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. present — there
  13. present — a gift
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. capital — a city
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. cell — in biology
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. mug — a cup
  22. bat — the animal
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. stand — for spectators

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