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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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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: lean · capital · arm · trunk · cell · field · pitch · cap

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. capital — money
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. field — for sport
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. cell — in biology
  12. cap — a hat
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. cap — a lid
  15. lean — thin
  16. field — a subject
  17. capital — a city
  18. cap — of ice
  19. field — farmland
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. pitch — completely
  22. lean — to bend
  23. cell — a phone
  24. arm — part of the body

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