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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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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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. capital — a city
  4. dip — to sink
  5. mug — to rob
  6. field — farmland
  7. mug — a face
  8. mug — a cup
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. field — for sport
  11. capital — money
  12. cap — a lid
  13. last — final
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. field — a subject
  16. cap — a hat
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. last — finally
  19. snap — to click
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. last — to go on
  23. cap — of ice
  24. dip — a sauce

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