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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: chest · net · pitcher · kid · bay · track · capital · season

  1. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. season — in sport
  3. capital — money
  4. track — a path
  5. kid — child
  6. chest — of your body
  7. net — after costs
  8. chest — a box
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. net — for catching
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. capital — a city
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. chest — of your body
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. net — in sport
  21. track — to keep track
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. season — of the year
  24. kid — to tease

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