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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: kick · stem · patient · game · ball · capital · pop · pitcher

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. game — a match
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. game — wild animals
  5. pop — soda
  6. pop — to visit
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. pop — music
  9. stem — to come from
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. capital — money
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. ball — a dance
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. capital — a city
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. kick — in football
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. ball — a round shape

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