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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: rash · stem · game · lie · capital · cap · pitcher · march

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. rash — hasty
  4. march — the month
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. rash — a series
  7. stem — to come from
  8. march — the month
  9. cap — a lid
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. capital — a city
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. game — wild animals
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. capital — money
  17. march — music
  18. cap — of ice
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. game — a match
  21. lie — to recline
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. cap — a hat
  24. game — a kind of play

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