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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 · pitch · swing · chip · kick · game

  1. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  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. swing — music
  2. capital — a city
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. game — a match
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. game — wild animals
  10. chip — to eat
  11. chip — for betting
  12. kick — in football
  13. swing — to play on
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. capital — money
  17. swing — in golf
  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