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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: pass · pitch · file · trunk · racket · drill · capital · last

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. file — a document
  3. file — a tool
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. last — finally
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. pass — a permit
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. drill — army training
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. last — to go on
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. drill — the tool
  16. capital — money
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. file — a line of people
  21. last — final
  22. pitch — completely
  23. capital — a city
  24. drill — a practice

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