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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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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: shower · rest · club · pitch · lean · capital

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. club — for dancing
  3. capital — money
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. rest — what's left
  7. club — a group
  8. shower — rain
  9. shower — to wash
  10. lean — to bend
  11. rest — a break
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. pitch — completely
  14. rest — what's left
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. capital — a city
  17. club — for golf
  18. lean — thin

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