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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: pitcher · wound · hand · safe · ball · rest · capital · mouse

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  24. He has no idea where the ________________ is.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. ball — a great time
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. wound — an injury
  5. wound — an injury
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. hand — help
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. capital — money
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. rest — what's left
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. rest — what's left
  19. rest — a break
  20. hand — in cards
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. ball — a dance
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. safe — a strongbox

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