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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · calf · cue · capital · foot · content · wound · court

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. capital — money
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. capital — a city
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. court — of law
  8. content — the amount
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. court — of a king
  11. court — for sport
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. cue — for pool
  15. cue — a hint
  16. content — happy
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. foot — a measure
  20. cue — a signal
  21. wound — an injury
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. wound — an injury

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