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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: wind · current · chest · pitch · cue · capital

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. cue — a signal
  3. wind — moving air
  4. chest — of your body
  5. current — happening now
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. wind — moving air
  9. capital — money
  10. cue — a hint
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. cue — for pool
  13. chest — of your body
  14. current — of water
  15. current — electric
  16. capital — a city
  17. pitch — completely
  18. chest — a box

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