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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: bass · suit · cold · game · dip · pitch · row · capital

  1. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. When will it ________________ you to start?
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. suit — clothes
  5. suit — to fit
  6. cold — not warm
  7. dip — to sink
  8. game — a match
  9. capital — a city
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. suit — in cards
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. capital — money
  14. row — to paddle
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. pitch — completely
  17. cold — an illness
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. bass — low music
  22. game — wild animals
  23. row — a line
  24. pitch — a sports field

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