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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: pitcher · content · mark · deal · capital · kid · rush · trunk

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. deal — to handle
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. kid — child
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. content — the amount
  7. capital — money
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. kid — to tease
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. content — happy
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. mark — a trace
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. mark — a grade
  19. rush — hurry
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. capital — a city

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