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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.

Make a worksheet

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
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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: pitch · shower · wind · capital · coach · date · spell · object

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. capital — money
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. shower — to wash
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. capital — a city
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. spell — magic
  13. date — the fruit
  14. pitch — completely
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. object — an aim
  17. spell — letters
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. spell — a short time
  20. object — to protest
  21. shower — rain
  22. object — a thing
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. wind — moving air

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