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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: ball · pitcher · cap · last · fall · pound · drill · mug

  1. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. last — final
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. last — finally
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. pound — a weight
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. fall — to drop
  10. cap — a hat
  11. mug — a face
  12. mug — a cup
  13. fall — the season
  14. cap — of ice
  15. fall — to drop
  16. drill — a practice
  17. cap — a lid
  18. drill — army training
  19. drill — the tool
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. last — to go on
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. ball — a dance
  24. ball — a great time

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