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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: pop · bulb · capital · ground · net · pitch · band · rock

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. capital — a city
  3. bulb — for light
  4. bulb — for light
  5. capital — money
  6. pop — soda
  7. net — for catching
  8. ground — a position
  9. pop — music
  10. ground — the earth
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. rock — music
  13. band — a music group
  14. pitch — completely
  15. rock — a stone
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. band — a ring
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. ground — crushed
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. pop — to visit
  24. net — in sport

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