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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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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 · ground · perch · pitch · bank · pit · net · spell

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  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. ground — crushed
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. pit — a hole
  4. ground — the earth
  5. spell — magic
  6. bank — for money
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. capital — money
  9. ground — a position
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. pitch — completely
  12. pit — in a race
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. net — after costs
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. bank — for money
  17. spell — a short time
  18. perch — the fish
  19. spell — letters
  20. net — for catching
  21. bank — of a river
  22. capital — a city
  23. net — in sport
  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