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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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468
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: cabinet · capital · pitch · dip · band · craft · bank · court

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. pitch — completely
  5. band — a ring
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. bank — for money
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. court — of a king
  11. craft — boats
  12. bank — for money
  13. band — a music group
  14. court — for sport
  15. court — of law
  16. dip — to sink
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. craft — a skill
  20. capital — money
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. bank — of a river
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. capital — a big letter

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