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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 120 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: capital · spring · firm · tube · ball · drill · rush · pitcher

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. spring — a coil
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. spring — the season
  6. ball — a great time
  7. firm — decided
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. spring — of water
  10. drill — the tool
  11. drill — a practice
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. tube — a container
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. firm — a company
  16. drill — army training
  17. ball — a dance
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. rush — hurry
  20. capital — a city
  21. tube — the underground
  22. capital — money
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. pitcher — in baseball

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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