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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: pitch · vault · capital · race · season · root

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. season — of the year
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. race — humankind
  7. race — the arms race
  8. root — of a plant
  9. season — in sport
  10. capital — a city
  11. capital — money
  12. vault — a safe
  13. root — the cause
  14. root — of a word
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. race — a contest
  17. pitch — completely
  18. season — to add flavour

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