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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: net · pit · pitch · lash · march · capital · shower · straw

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. capital — money
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. pit — a hole
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. shower — to wash
  7. net — for catching
  8. net — in sport
  9. shower — rain
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. pitch — completely
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. capital — a city
  17. march — the month
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. march — the month
  20. march — music
  21. net — after costs
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. pit — in a race

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