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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 · field · cap · date · club · temple · straw · capital

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. field — farmland
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. capital — money
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. cap — a hat
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. club — for dancing
  14. club — a group
  15. field — for sport
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. cap — a lid
  19. field — a subject
  20. capital — a city
  21. date — the fruit
  22. cap — of ice
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. date — on the calendar

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