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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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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: band · capital · cue · race · tube · file · pitch · patient

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. race — humankind
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. tube — the underground
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. race — a contest
  8. file — a document
  9. capital — a city
  10. tube — a container
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. cue — for pool
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. pitch — completely
  15. file — a tool
  16. race — the arms race
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. band — a ring
  19. band — a music group
  20. cue — a hint
  21. cue — a signal
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. capital — money
  24. file — a line of people

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