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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 116 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 · court · stock · pitch · lie · wave · pound · field

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. stock — shares
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. capital — money
  6. court — of a king
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. lie — to recline
  12. field — for sport
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. court — of law
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. stock — goods
  17. court — for sport
  18. pound — a weight
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. field — a subject
  21. pitch — completely
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. capital — a city
  24. lie — an untruth

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