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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: ground · capital · pop · mark · temple · deal · pitcher · rock

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. capital — a city
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. mark — a grade
  7. ground — a position
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. mark — a trace
  10. ground — crushed
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. pop — music
  14. rock — music
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. pop — to visit
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. deal — to handle
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. rock — a stone
  22. pop — soda
  23. ground — the earth
  24. pitcher — a jug

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