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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: bulb · capital · racket · press · bat · pit · pitch · sharp

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  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. bat — for baseball
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. press — to push
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. pitch — completely
  6. pit — in a race
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. bulb — for light
  12. capital — a city
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. pit — a hole
  16. press — newspapers
  17. sharp — clever
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. press — a publisher
  20. bulb — for light
  21. bat — the animal
  22. capital — money
  23. sharp — exactly
  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