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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 116 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: board · cold · capital · staff · pitch · pound

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. pitch — completely
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. cold — not warm
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. staff — a stick
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. capital — money
  11. staff — employees
  12. pound — a weight
  13. capital — a city
  14. board — to get on
  15. board — a committee
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. cold — an illness

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