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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 116 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: pitch · trunk · tear · capital · press · kick · track · plane

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. capital — money
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. press — to push
  7. track — a song
  8. press — a publisher
  9. capital — a city
  10. track — a path
  11. press — newspapers
  12. tear — from crying
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. kick — in football
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. pitch — completely
  17. tear — from crying
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. track — to keep track
  20. plane — a tool
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. tear — to rip
  24. trunk — of a tree

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