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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: wave · row · capital · pitch · bark · present

  1. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  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. wave — of the sea
  2. present — the time now
  3. capital — a city
  4. present — a gift
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. row — a line
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. present — there
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. bark — to shout
  12. capital — money
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. row — to paddle
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. row — a quarrel
  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