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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: pitch · land · date · cue · capital · firm · clip · rush

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. clip — for paper
  3. land — to come down
  4. firm — steady
  5. firm — a company
  6. land — a country
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. land — ground
  9. clip — to cut
  10. date — the fruit
  11. capital — a city
  12. clip — a video
  13. cue — a signal
  14. capital — money
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. firm — decided
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. pitch — completely
  20. cue — a hint
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. rush — hurry
  23. cue — for pool
  24. pitch — a sports field

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