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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.

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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 · wind · tear · bowl · capital · cell · ground

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. ground — crushed
  3. tear — to rip
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. capital — a city
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. tear — from crying
  10. ground — the earth
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. pitch — completely
  13. tear — from crying
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. capital — money
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. cell — in biology
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. cell — a phone
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. ground — a position
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. wind — moving air

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