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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: racket · face · land · fork · pitch · capital

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. face — to point toward
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. face — part of the head
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. land — ground
  8. capital — money
  9. pitch — completely
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. land — to come down
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. land — a country
  14. fork — in a road
  15. capital — a city
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. face — to confront

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