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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 · capital · ball · pop · season · fall · leaves · game

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. fall — to drop
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. pop — music
  5. game — a match
  6. game — wild animals
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. fall — to drop
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. season — in sport
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. pop — to visit
  15. ball — a dance
  16. fall — the season
  17. pitch — completely
  18. season — of the year
  19. ball — a great time
  20. pop — soda
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. capital — money
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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