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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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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 · last · band · pitch · wound · coach · court · fork

  1. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  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. coach — a trainer
  2. band — a music group
  3. court — of a king
  4. last — final
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. court — for sport
  7. wound — an injury
  8. capital — money
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. wound — an injury
  13. pitch — completely
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. court — of law
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. last — to go on
  18. band — a ring
  19. fork — in a road
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. last — finally
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. capital — a city
  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