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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: clip · mug · pitcher · perch · racket · temple · chest · capital

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. capital — money
  5. capital — a city
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. mug — a cup
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. clip — a video
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. perch — the fish
  16. mug — a face
  17. chest — of your body
  18. chest — a box
  19. clip — for paper
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. mug — to rob
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. clip — to cut

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