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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: capital · ground · straw · drill · pitcher · toast · game · ball

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. drill — the tool
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. game — wild animals
  5. ground — the earth
  6. ball — a dance
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. ball — a great time
  11. drill — army training
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. game — a match
  16. ground — a position
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. drill — a practice
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. toast — bread
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. capital — a city
  24. ground — crushed

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