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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 · pitcher · fall · capital · march · bowl · court · rush

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. capital — a city
  5. march — the month
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. fall — the season
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. court — of law
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. pitch — completely
  14. rush — hurry
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. march — music
  19. court — of a king
  20. capital — money
  21. fall — to drop
  22. court — for sport
  23. march — the month
  24. bowl — a football final

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