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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 120 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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. capital — a city
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. hand — in cards
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. rush — hurry
  14. present — the time now
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. pitch — completely
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. present — there
  23. present — a gift
  24. capital — money

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