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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: pitcher · rush · capital · sharp · cell · fan · mouse · kick

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. capital — a city
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. rush — hurry
  13. kick — in football
  14. cell — a phone
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. cell — in biology
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. capital — money

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