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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: bear · coach · pitch · fall · capital · band · march · wound

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. capital — money
  5. march — the month
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. pitch — completely
  8. band — a music group
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. march — music
  11. fall — to drop
  12. band — a ring
  13. bear — the animal
  14. bear — the animal
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. wound — an injury
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. fall — to drop
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. fall — the season
  21. march — the month
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. capital — a city

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