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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 116 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: kick · pitcher · mate · pitch · capital · rest · clip · net

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. rest — a break
  3. rest — what's left
  4. clip — for paper
  5. mate — to breed
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. net — for catching
  8. clip — to cut
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. mate — a friend
  11. mate — a partner
  12. kick — in football
  13. clip — a video
  14. rest — what's left
  15. net — after costs
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. pitch — completely
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. capital — money
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. capital — a city

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