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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
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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 · wind · mouse · dip · pitcher · chest · court · degree

  1. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to sink
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. court — of law
  7. degree — an amount
  8. court — for sport
  9. capital — a city
  10. wind — moving air
  11. degree — from a university
  12. chest — of your body
  13. wind — moving air
  14. chest — of your body
  15. court — of a king
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. degree — temperature
  20. capital — money
  21. chest — a box
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. dip — to dunk

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