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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · pit · cap · field · scale · shower · pop · pitch

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. pop — soda
  3. pop — to visit
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. cap — of ice
  6. pop — music
  7. shower — rain
  8. shower — to wash
  9. capital — money
  10. pitch — completely
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. field — for sport
  14. scale — in music
  15. field — a subject
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. capital — a city
  18. pit — a hole
  19. pit — in a race
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. field — farmland
  22. scale — size or range
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. cap — a lid

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