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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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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 · pound · key · stick · court · pitch · ground · band

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. capital — money
  6. key — the most important part
  7. pound — a weight
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. ground — the earth
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. band — a ring
  14. court — for sport
  15. band — a music group
  16. capital — a city
  17. pitch — completely
  18. ground — crushed
  19. court — of law
  20. key — for a lock
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. key — in music
  23. ground — a position
  24. court — of a king

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