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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: cap · game · bat · fan · arm · present · bay · pitch

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. pitch — completely
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. bat — the animal
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. present — there
  11. cap — of ice
  12. game — a match
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. present — the time now
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. present — a gift
  21. cap — a hat
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. game — wild animals

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