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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: foot · capital · hide · pitch · chair · saw · wound · rash

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. saw — the tool
  4. capital — a city
  5. wound — an injury
  6. pitch — completely
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. saw — the tool
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. rash — hasty
  14. rash — a series
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. wound — an injury
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. capital — money
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. chair — a leader
  24. foot — a measure

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