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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: saw · stem · spell · pitch · rush · capital · court · game

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. capital — a city
  4. spell — letters
  5. saw — the tool
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. stem — to come from
  10. game — a match
  11. spell — a short time
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. saw — the tool
  14. court — for sport
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. pitch — completely
  17. game — wild animals
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. rush — hurry
  20. spell — magic
  21. capital — money
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. court — of a king

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