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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: mark · capital · last · pitcher · club · patient · rush · trunk

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. club — for golf
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. last — to go on
  7. club — for dancing
  8. last — finally
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. mark — a grade
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. mark — a trace
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. capital — a city
  19. club — a group
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. capital — money
  23. last — final
  24. rush — hurry

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