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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.

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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: pitch · fine · wake · hide · chair · present · capital · cold

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. present — there
  6. capital — money
  7. fine — all right
  8. present — the time now
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. wake — a trail
  13. chair — a leader
  14. cold — an illness
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. pitch — completely
  18. cold — not warm
  19. capital — a city
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. present — a gift
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. capital — a big letter

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