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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
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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: ground · capital · pitcher · bowl · clip · row · degree · trunk

  1. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. capital — money
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. capital — a city
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. ground — a position
  8. clip — to cut
  9. ground — crushed
  10. degree — temperature
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. row — a line
  13. clip — for paper
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. ground — the earth
  16. degree — from a university
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. degree — an amount
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. clip — a video

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