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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: pit · court · sharp · tear · key · pitcher · capital · rule

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. rule — a law
  4. capital — money
  5. sharp — clever
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. tear — from crying
  9. capital — a city
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. court — of law
  12. pit — in a race
  13. key — in music
  14. pit — a hole
  15. key — the most important part
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. tear — to rip
  18. key — for a lock
  19. tear — from crying
  20. court — of a king
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. court — for sport
  24. rule — government

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