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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.

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: stem · shower · pitch · lean · drill · pitcher · snap · capital

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. drill — a practice
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. capital — a city
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. stem — to come from
  12. shower — rain
  13. lean — thin
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. pitch — completely
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. drill — army training
  19. shower — to wash
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. lean — to bend
  23. capital — money
  24. drill — the tool

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