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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: bat · foot · capital · leaves · hide · wake · net · pitcher

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. foot — a measure
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. wake — a trail
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. capital — money
  9. net — after costs
  10. bat — the animal
  11. net — in sport
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. net — for catching
  21. capital — a city
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. hide — animal skin

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