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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: court · cell · chest · pitch · capital · bank

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. bank — for money
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. cell — in biology
  5. chest — a box
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. pitch — completely
  8. cell — a phone
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. court — of a king
  11. bank — of a river
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. chest — of your body
  14. capital — a city
  15. court — for sport
  16. bank — for money
  17. chest — of your body
  18. capital — money

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