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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: cap · present · racket · deal · game · cell · capital · pitch

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. game — wild animals
  5. capital — money
  6. cell — a phone
  7. cap — a lid
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. cap — of ice
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. present — the time now
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. pitch — completely
  16. game — a match
  17. deal — to handle
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. present — there
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. present — a gift
  22. cell — in biology
  23. cap — a hat
  24. game — a kind of play

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