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

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. bulb — for light
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. wind — moving air
  10. pitch — completely
  11. wind — moving air
  12. capital — money
  13. capital — a city
  14. deal — to handle
  15. hand — help
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. bulb — for light
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. hand — in cards
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. band — a music group
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. band — a ring

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