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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: capital · bat · ground · pit · shower · pitch · craft · date

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. date — the fruit
  3. pitch — completely
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. ground — the earth
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. ground — a position
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. capital — money
  14. shower — to wash
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. capital — a city
  17. pit — in a race
  18. bat — the animal
  19. craft — boats
  20. shower — rain
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. craft — a skill
  24. pit — a hole

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