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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 120 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 · suit · cold · capital · pitcher · band · bulb · leaves

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. When will it ________________ you to start?
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. suit — in cards
  4. suit — clothes
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. capital — a city
  8. band — a music group
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. cold — not warm
  13. bulb — for light
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. cold — an illness
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. suit — to fit
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. capital — money
  22. bulb — for light
  23. pitch — completely
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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