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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 116 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: capital · pitcher · sharp · bear · cell · can · rule · last

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. capital — a city
  3. bear — the animal
  4. rule — government
  5. can — a tin
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. sharp — clever
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. last — to go on
  11. last — finally
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. capital — money
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. bear — the animal
  18. last — final
  19. rule — a law
  20. cell — a phone
  21. can — to be able to
  22. can — a tin
  23. cell — in biology
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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