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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
468
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 · last · toast · capital · drill · rush · wind · racket

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. drill — a practice
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. last — final
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wind — moving air
  8. last — to go on
  9. drill — the tool
  10. capital — a city
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. last — finally
  16. drill — army training
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. capital — money
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. toast — bread

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