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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: capital · nail · game · row · current · mark · pitch · bound

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. capital — money
  3. row — to paddle
  4. bound — tied together
  5. capital — a city
  6. current — happening now
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. current — electric
  11. game — a match
  12. current — of water
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. row — a line
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. mark — a grade
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. mark — a trace
  21. bound — obliged
  22. bound — certain
  23. pitch — completely
  24. game — wild animals

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