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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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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: spell · pop · mark · hide · capital · last · pitch · row

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. capital — money
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. pop — music
  6. last — to go on
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. row — to paddle
  10. last — final
  11. mark — a trace
  12. capital — a city
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. spell — a short time
  15. pop — soda
  16. spell — magic
  17. pop — to visit
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. last — finally
  20. spell — letters
  21. mark — a grade
  22. pitch — completely
  23. row — a line
  24. hide — to keep secret

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