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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: rest · capital · lie · pitch · pound · file

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. pitch — completely
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. pound — a weight
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. rest — what's left
  9. file — a line of people
  10. file — a tool
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. capital — money
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. file — a document
  15. capital — a city
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. rest — what's left
  18. lie — to recline

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