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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.

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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: mug · rush · capital · prune · pitch · band · chair · net

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. mug — to rob
  3. rush — hurry
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. net — in sport
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. chair — a leader
  9. net — after costs
  10. pitch — completely
  11. mug — a cup
  12. capital — a city
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. band — a music group
  15. net — for catching
  16. prune — to trim
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. capital — money
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. prune — to trim
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. mug — a face
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. rush — a thrill

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