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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: ground · firm · bear · capital · foot · tube · pitch · cold

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. pitch — completely
  3. bear — the animal
  4. firm — steady
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. tube — a container
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. foot — a measure
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. bear — the animal
  11. tube — the underground
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. cold — an illness
  14. capital — money
  15. ground — crushed
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. ground — the earth
  19. ground — a position
  20. firm — a company
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. firm — decided
  24. cold — not warm

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