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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: tear · capital · drill · field · foot · pitch

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. pitch — completely
  4. foot — a measure
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. drill — a practice
  8. capital — a city
  9. tear — to rip
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. tear — from crying
  12. field — a subject
  13. drill — army training
  14. field — farmland
  15. drill — the tool
  16. field — for sport
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. tear — from crying

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