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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: field · pitch · kick · racket · capital · march

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. march — the month
  3. field — farmland
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. field — a subject
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. pitch — completely
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. field — for sport
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. capital — money
  12. kick — in football
  13. march — the month
  14. march — music
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. pitch — a sales talk

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