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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 120 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: bank · swing · capital · mine · pitch · craft

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. bank — of a river
  3. bank — for money
  4. bank — for money
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. capital — money
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. craft — boats
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. swing — music
  12. mine — for digging
  13. craft — a skill
  14. pitch — completely
  15. swing — in golf
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. capital — a city
  18. craft — a handicraft

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