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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 · land · lean · wake · bat · pitch · pound · chip

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. land — to come down
  3. capital — money
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. lean — thin
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. pitch — completely
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. chip — for betting
  12. bat — the animal
  13. pound — a weight
  14. land — a country
  15. chip — to eat
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. wake — a trail
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. lean — to bend
  20. capital — a city
  21. land — ground
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. bat — in an idiom

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