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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 · patient · straw · capital · deal · swing

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  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. pitch — a sports field
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. capital — a city
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. swing — music
  7. capital — money
  8. pitch — completely
  9. swing — to play on
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. deal — to handle
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. swing — in golf
  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