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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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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: fall · capital · cell · firm · game · snap · pitch · bank

  1. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. cell — a phone
  4. snap — to click
  5. firm — steady
  6. fall — to drop
  7. game — a match
  8. bank — for money
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. capital — a city
  13. cell — in biology
  14. capital — money
  15. bank — of a river
  16. bank — for money
  17. firm — a company
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. fall — to drop
  20. game — wild animals
  21. firm — decided
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. fall — the season
  24. cell — in a prison

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