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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 120 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: bat · bark · capital · pitch · rash · file · suit · snap

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. When will it ________________ you to start?
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  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. bat — for baseball
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. bat — the animal
  4. rash — hasty
  5. rash — a series
  6. snap — to click
  7. file — a document
  8. suit — clothes
  9. capital — a city
  10. suit — to fit
  11. bark — to shout
  12. file — a line of people
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. suit — in cards
  15. capital — money
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. pitch — completely
  22. file — a tool
  23. bat — in an idiom
  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