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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: pitcher · file · capital · pitch · club · pit · mark · bound

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  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. pitcher — a jug
  2. club — for dancing
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. pit — in a race
  5. mark — a trace
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. club — for golf
  8. club — a group
  9. capital — a city
  10. file — a tool
  11. pit — a hole
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. bound — tied together
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. bound — certain
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. file — a document
  18. bound — obliged
  19. pitch — completely
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. capital — money
  23. mark — a grade
  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