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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: hand · pitcher · jam · mark · temple · capital · racket · wind

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. mark — a trace
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. hand — in cards
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. capital — money
  13. mark — a grade
  14. hand — help
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. wind — moving air
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. wind — moving air
  22. capital — a city
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. jam — a tight spot

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