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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: march · pitch · lash · capital · band · rule

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. band — a music group
  3. band — a ring
  4. march — the month
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. capital — a city
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. rule — a law
  9. capital — money
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. pitch — completely
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. march — music
  17. march — the month
  18. pitch — a sales talk

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