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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: capital · season · arm · cell · pitch · rash · net · pit

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. cell — in biology
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. rash — a series
  6. rash — hasty
  7. pitch — completely
  8. season — in sport
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. season — of the year
  12. capital — money
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. net — after costs
  15. net — for catching
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. pit — a hole
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. pit — in a race
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. cell — a phone
  24. net — in sport

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