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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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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 · content · swing · bat · capital · trunk · pound · bark

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. swing — music
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. swing — in golf
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. bat — the animal
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. content — the amount
  12. bark — to shout
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. capital — a city
  15. capital — money
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. content — happy
  18. pitch — completely
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. swing — to play on
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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