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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 · field · wound · current · staff · bank · drill · capital

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. current — electric
  4. bank — of a river
  5. wound — an injury
  6. wound — an injury
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. staff — a stick
  9. capital — money
  10. field — for sport
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. pitch — completely
  13. field — farmland
  14. field — a subject
  15. drill — the tool
  16. current — happening now
  17. bank — for money
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. drill — a practice
  20. current — of water
  21. drill — army training
  22. staff — employees
  23. bank — for money
  24. staff — employees

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