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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: spring · capital · pitch · craft · toast · racket

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. pitch — completely
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. capital — a city
  6. spring — the season
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. capital — money
  9. spring — of water
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. craft — a skill
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. toast — bread
  18. spring — a coil

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