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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.

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: bass · deal · current · capital · mate · pitch · file · court

  1. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. file — a tool
  3. bass — low music
  4. file — a document
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. mate — a friend
  7. court — of law
  8. current — of water
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. bass — the fish
  11. file — a line of people
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. capital — money
  15. mate — a partner
  16. capital — a city
  17. deal — to handle
  18. current — electric
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. mate — to breed
  21. court — for sport
  22. current — happening now
  23. court — of a king
  24. bass — the instrument

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