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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: capital · bark · season · pitch · tube · current · last · bat

  1. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. tube — a container
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. tube — the underground
  7. capital — money
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. last — to go on
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. season — of the year
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. season — in sport
  14. capital — a city
  15. current — of water
  16. last — finally
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. current — happening now
  19. last — final
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. bat — the animal
  22. current — electric
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. bark — to shout

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