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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 · rash · pitch · present · wave · swing · content · bat

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. capital — a city
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. present — a gift
  6. swing — in golf
  7. bat — the animal
  8. present — there
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. pitch — completely
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. swing — music
  13. capital — money
  14. rash — hasty
  15. rash — a series
  16. content — the amount
  17. present — the time now
  18. content — happy
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. swing — to play on

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