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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 120 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: ground · kick · face · nail · capital · pitcher · bound · spell

  1. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. capital — money
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. bound — tied together
  6. capital — a city
  7. face — to point toward
  8. ground — a position
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. ground — crushed
  12. face — part of the head
  13. bound — obliged
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. bound — certain
  17. face — to confront
  18. ground — the earth
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. spell — a short time
  21. spell — letters
  22. spell — magic
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. capital — a big letter

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