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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 120 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: pitch · shower · capital · mug · bore · march · wax · coach

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. pitch — completely
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. shower — rain
  5. capital — a city
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. shower — to wash
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. march — music
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. mug — to rob
  16. wax — to grow
  17. bore — to drill
  18. bore — to tire
  19. march — the month
  20. mug — a face
  21. mug — a cup
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. capital — money
  24. march — the month

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