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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.

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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 · cabinet · roll · bore · bat · pitch · pitcher · snap

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. snap — to click
  13. capital — a city
  14. bore — to drill
  15. capital — money
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. pitch — completely
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. roll — a list
  21. bat — the animal
  22. roll — a cake
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. bore — to tire

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