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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: file · club · sharp · pitch · capital · root · chair · rest

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. sharp — clever
  4. file — a line of people
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. club — a group
  8. chair — a leader
  9. rest — what's left
  10. capital — a city
  11. club — for golf
  12. root — of a word
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. pitch — completely
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. rest — a break
  17. file — a document
  18. club — for dancing
  19. capital — money
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. file — a tool
  22. root — the cause
  23. rest — what's left
  24. root — of a plant

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