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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: pitch · hand · bank · capital · court · plane · cold · wave

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. court — for sport
  3. hand — in cards
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. bank — of a river
  6. hand — help
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. capital — money
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. plane — a tool
  12. bank — for money
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. pitch — completely
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. bank — for money
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. court — of a king
  21. capital — a city
  22. court — of law
  23. cold — not warm
  24. cold — an illness

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