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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: band · firm · pitcher · capital · content · scale · pit · tear

  1. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. firm — a company
  3. tear — to rip
  4. pit — a hole
  5. capital — money
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. pit — in a race
  10. band — a ring
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. capital — a city
  15. content — happy
  16. scale — size or range
  17. firm — steady
  18. scale — in music
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. tear — from crying
  21. band — a music group
  22. content — the amount
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. tear — from crying

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