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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: present · craft · content · clip · land · cabinet · capital · pitch

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. clip — to cut
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. craft — boats
  5. present — a gift
  6. capital — a city
  7. land — to come down
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. capital — money
  10. content — happy
  11. present — the time now
  12. pitch — completely
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. land — ground
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. present — there
  18. craft — a skill
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. content — the amount
  21. clip — a video
  22. clip — for paper
  23. land — a country
  24. craft — a handicraft

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