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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: capital · kid · wind · mouse · court · pitch

  1. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. wind — moving air
  3. court — of law
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. capital — a city
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. court — of a king
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. kid — child
  12. capital — money
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. wind — moving air
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. court — for sport
  18. kid — to tease

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