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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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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: bass · stand · capital · perch · spring · pitcher

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. capital — money
  3. spring — the season
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. spring — of water
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. spring — a coil
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. capital — a city
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. stand — to bear
  16. perch — the fish
  17. bass — the fish
  18. bass — low music

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