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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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Word bank
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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: chest · pitch · capital · swing · fork · chip

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. swing — in golf
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. swing — music
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. swing — to play on
  7. capital — a city
  8. chest — of your body
  9. fork — in a road
  10. chest — a box
  11. chip — for betting
  12. pitch — completely
  13. capital — money
  14. chest — of your body
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. chip — to eat
  18. pitch — a sales talk

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