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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 116 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: fan · branch · rash · march · ground · capital · pitch · staff

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. capital — a city
  4. pitch — completely
  5. staff — employees
  6. ground — the earth
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. rash — hasty
  9. march — the month
  10. staff — employees
  11. ground — crushed
  12. branch — a division
  13. ground — a position
  14. capital — money
  15. march — the month
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. march — music
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. rash — a series
  24. staff — a stick

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