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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: wound · foot · cell · stick · pitcher · toast · net · capital

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. capital — a city
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. net — after costs
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. foot — a measure
  11. cell — in biology
  12. capital — money
  13. net — for catching
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. wound — an injury
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. net — in sport
  23. toast — bread
  24. cell — a phone

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