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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: present · hand · saw · snap · capital · coach · pitch · fork

  1. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. present — a gift
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. saw — the tool
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. capital — a city
  9. hand — in cards
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. fork — in a road
  14. snap — to click
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. capital — money
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. saw — the tool
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. hand — help
  21. present — the time now
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. present — there
  24. coach — a trainer

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