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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: racket · bat · capital · pitch · firm · patient

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. firm — a company
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. pitch — completely
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. firm — decided
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. firm — steady
  12. bat — the animal
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. capital — money
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. patient — calm and waiting

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