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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: march · pitcher · capital · rush · mark · chest · toast · dip

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. chest — of your body
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. mark — a trace
  6. march — music
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. mark — a grade
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. capital — a city
  16. march — the month
  17. march — the month
  18. dip — to sink
  19. chest — a box
  20. chest — of your body
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. capital — money
  23. toast — a drink to someone
  24. rush — hurry

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