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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: capital · bore · pitch · rest · face · row · coach · court

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. court — of law
  4. pitch — completely
  5. rest — a break
  6. face — to confront
  7. rest — what's left
  8. capital — money
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. face — part of the head
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. capital — a city
  13. court — of a king
  14. row — to paddle
  15. rest — what's left
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. bore — to tire
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. court — for sport
  20. face — to point toward
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. bore — to drill
  24. row — a line

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