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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: rock · rush · pitcher · drill · swing · capital · land · fan

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. land — a country
  3. swing — music
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. swing — to play on
  6. swing — in golf
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. rush — hurry
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. capital — a city
  11. land — to come down
  12. land — ground
  13. drill — army training
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. drill — the tool
  18. drill — a practice
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. rock — a stone
  21. capital — money
  22. rock — music
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. rush — to hurry

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