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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: wave · capital · wind · chair · pitcher · fan · pitch · nail

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wind — moving air
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. pitch — completely
  12. capital — a city
  13. chair — a leader
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. capital — money
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. wind — to turn a key

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