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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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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 · file · temple · kid · toast · prune · capital · court

  1. When was this ________________ built?
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. file — a tool
  3. prune — to trim
  4. file — a document
  5. prune — to trim
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. capital — a city
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. kid — to tease
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. court — of a king
  15. pitch — completely
  16. court — for sport
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. kid — child
  19. capital — money
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. file — a line of people
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. toast — bread
  24. court — of law

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