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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: bulb · capital · mug · row · pitcher · club · hand · ground

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. ground — a position
  4. capital — money
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. hand — help
  8. club — a group
  9. capital — a city
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. row — a line
  12. mug — a cup
  13. row — to paddle
  14. bulb — for light
  15. mug — a face
  16. ground — the earth
  17. hand — in cards
  18. mug — to rob
  19. club — for golf
  20. ground — crushed
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. bulb — for light

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