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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. capital — a city
  3. drill — a practice
  4. cap — a hat
  5. mark — a grade
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. chest — of your body
  9. drill — the tool
  10. board — to get on
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. drill — army training
  15. cap — of ice
  16. board — a committee
  17. chest — a box
  18. mark — a trace
  19. cap — a lid
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. capital — money
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. chest — of your body

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