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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: bear · pitch · mine · capital · deal · cabinet · lean · court

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. capital — money
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. court — for sport
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. deal — to handle
  9. court — of a king
  10. lean — to bend
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. lean — thin
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. court — of law
  16. capital — a city
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. bear — the animal
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. bear — the animal
  24. pitch — completely

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