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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: capital · stock · pit · sharp · jam · court · bark · pitch

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. pitch — completely
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. capital — a city
  6. court — of a king
  7. sharp — clever
  8. stock — shares
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. pit — a hole
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. court — for sport
  14. pit — in a race
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. stock — goods
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. court — of law
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. bark — to shout
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. capital — money

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