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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 120 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: nail · game · key · rush · capital · pitcher · kid · wound

  1. That must've been a ________________.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. kid — to tease
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. game — a match
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. capital — money
  12. key — for a lock
  13. key — the most important part
  14. key — in music
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. capital — a city
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wound — an injury
  19. rush — hurry
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. kid — child
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. game — wild animals
  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