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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: pitch · rule · stand · chest · capital · bore

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  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. capital — a city
  2. rule — a law
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. rule — government
  8. chest — of your body
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. stand — to bear
  11. capital — money
  12. pitch — completely
  13. bore — to tire
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. chest — of your body
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. bore — to drill
  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