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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: ground · pitch · row · hand · cabinet · capital · fall · stand

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. fall — to drop
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. row — to paddle
  5. ground — crushed
  6. ground — the earth
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. capital — money
  9. fall — to drop
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. stand — to bear
  15. capital — a city
  16. row — a line
  17. fall — the season
  18. pitch — completely
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. hand — help
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. hand — in cards

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