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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: pop · wind · content · temple · last · pitcher · capital · bay

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. last — final
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. pop — soda
  8. last — finally
  9. pop — music
  10. content — happy
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. capital — money
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wind — moving air
  18. last — to go on
  19. capital — a city
  20. content — the amount
  21. pop — to visit
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. pitcher — a jug

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