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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: mouse · season · dip · race · foot · pitcher · capital · snap

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. capital — a city
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. race — humankind
  7. foot — a measure
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. season — in sport
  11. dip — to sink
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. snap — to click
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. capital — money
  22. race — a contest
  23. race — the arms race
  24. mouse — the animal

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