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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 116 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 · firm · hand · racket · key · season · land · pitcher

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. hand — in cards
  4. capital — money
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. key — the most important part
  7. land — ground
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. capital — a city
  10. key — in music
  11. land — to come down
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. season — in sport
  16. firm — a company
  17. key — for a lock
  18. firm — steady
  19. season — of the year
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. hand — help
  22. firm — decided
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. land — a country

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