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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: mate · capital · toast · present · pitcher · tear

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. capital — money
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. present — a gift
  5. tear — from crying
  6. mate — a partner
  7. mate — to breed
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. tear — to rip
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. capital — a city
  14. tear — from crying
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. present — there
  17. present — the time now
  18. mate — a friend

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