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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: stem · fork · mouse · pitch · kid · capital

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. kid — to tease
  3. kid — child
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. stem — to come from
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. fork — in a road
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. pitch — completely
  14. capital — money
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. capital — a city
  18. stem — of a plant

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