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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 116 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: spring · dip · capital · bat · pitcher · pitch · march · bulb

  1. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. pitch — completely
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. bat — the animal
  6. spring — a coil
  7. capital — money
  8. march — the month
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. spring — of water
  12. bulb — for light
  13. march — music
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. capital — a city
  19. bulb — for light
  20. spring — the season
  21. march — the month
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. dip — to sink

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