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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: straw · swing · capital · cap · degree · present · rash · pitch

  1. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. pitch — completely
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. rash — hasty
  5. degree — an amount
  6. present — a gift
  7. swing — in golf
  8. present — the time now
  9. cap — a hat
  10. degree — from a university
  11. cap — a lid
  12. swing — to play on
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. present — there
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. cap — of ice
  18. degree — temperature
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. capital — a city
  21. capital — money
  22. rash — a series
  23. swing — music
  24. straw — a straw man

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