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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 · file · bound · capital · rush · snap · mate · pitcher

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. snap — to click
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. mate — a partner
  5. bound — tied together
  6. capital — money
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. bound — obliged
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. mate — to breed
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. file — a document
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. bound — certain
  18. pitch — completely
  19. capital — a city
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. file — a line of people
  22. rush — hurry
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. file — a tool

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