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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 116 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: track · mate · pitcher · land · wound · capital · bay · snap

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. wound — an injury
  3. capital — a city
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. wound — an injury
  6. track — to keep track
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. land — a country
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. mate — to breed
  13. land — to come down
  14. snap — to click
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. land — ground
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. track — a song
  21. capital — money
  22. track — a path
  23. mate — a partner
  24. mate — a friend

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