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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: kid · pitch · nail · root · net · capital · hide · cap

  1. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. capital — a city
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. root — of a word
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. cap — a hat
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. pitch — completely
  13. kid — child
  14. root — of a plant
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. net — after costs
  17. kid — to tease
  18. capital — money
  19. cap — of ice
  20. net — in sport
  21. cap — a lid
  22. net — for catching
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. root — the cause

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