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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: capital · fork · pitch · spring · wax · rule · current · hide

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. spring — the season
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. fork — in a road
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. pitch — completely
  11. current — of water
  12. rule — government
  13. spring — of water
  14. wax — to grow
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. capital — a city
  17. current — happening now
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. capital — money
  20. rule — a law
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. current — electric
  23. spring — a coil
  24. hide — animal skin

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