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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 116 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: capital · pitch · last · hand · mug · ball · mate · deal

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. capital — a city
  4. hand — help
  5. last — finally
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. last — final
  8. last — to go on
  9. mate — a partner
  10. mug — a face
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. ball — a dance
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. mate — to breed
  17. mug — a cup
  18. hand — in cards
  19. deal — to handle
  20. mug — to rob
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. pitch — completely
  23. ball — a great time
  24. capital — money

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