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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: drill · cap · racket · kick · pitch · capital · kid · sharp

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. cap — a lid
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. capital — a city
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. capital — money
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. drill — the tool
  10. kid — to tease
  11. cap — of ice
  12. sharp — clever
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. kick — in football
  16. pitch — completely
  17. drill — army training
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. cap — a hat
  23. drill — a practice
  24. kid — child

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