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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: pitcher · shower · mate · cabinet · snap · bound · capital · kick

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. capital — a city
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. snap — to click
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. mate — a partner
  8. bound — tied together
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. shower — to wash
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. bound — obliged
  14. bound — certain
  15. mate — to breed
  16. shower — rain
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. capital — money
  21. mate — a friend
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. kick — in football
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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