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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: pitch · stock · capital · cap · pitcher · fan · row · squash

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. squash — to crush
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. stock — shares
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. cap — a lid
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. pitch — completely
  15. capital — a city
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. row — to paddle
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. stock — goods
  20. row — a line
  21. capital — money
  22. cap — a hat
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. cap — of ice

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