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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 116 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: plane · capital · pitch · bark · game · club · spell · stick

  1. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. capital — a city
  5. spell — magic
  6. capital — money
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. club — for golf
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. spell — letters
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. pitch — completely
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. game — a match
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. club — a group
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. plane — a tool
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. club — for dancing
  22. game — wild animals
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. bark — to shout

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