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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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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 · pitch · key · field · fan · leaves · track · clip

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. pitch — completely
  4. clip — for paper
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. key — for a lock
  8. clip — to cut
  9. field — farmland
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. field — for sport
  12. field — a subject
  13. key — in music
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. track — to keep track
  18. key — the most important part
  19. track — a song
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. clip — a video
  22. capital — money
  23. capital — a city
  24. fan — to cool the air

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