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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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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: pitch · row · capital · chest · vault · cap

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. cap — a hat
  3. cap — a lid
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. capital — a city
  7. vault — a safe
  8. chest — a box
  9. cap — of ice
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. chest — of your body
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. capital — money
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. row — to paddle
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. row — a line
  18. pitch — completely

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