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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: cap · rock · bay · pitch · capital · sharp · band · foot

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. cap — a lid
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. capital — money
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. cap — of ice
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. foot — a measure
  12. pitch — completely
  13. sharp — clever
  14. rock — a stone
  15. band — a music group
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. cap — a hat
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. band — a ring
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. rock — music
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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