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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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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 · bat · net · bear · march · bowl · snap · pitch

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. bear — the animal
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. march — the month
  7. bear — the animal
  8. snap — to click
  9. net — after costs
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. net — for catching
  12. net — in sport
  13. capital — a city
  14. capital — money
  15. march — the month
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. march — music
  22. pitch — completely
  23. bat — the animal
  24. capital — a big letter

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