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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. roll — a list
  5. kick — in football
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. can — a tin
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. ground — the earth
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. ground — a position
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. capital — money
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. chair — a leader
  19. mine — for digging
  20. capital — a city
  21. ground — crushed
  22. roll — a cake
  23. can — to be able to
  24. can — a tin

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