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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: bass · game · fork · bore · capital · roll · foot · pitcher

  1. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. game — a match
  4. bass — low music
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. bore — to tire
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. bore — to drill
  9. capital — a city
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. fork — in a road
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. foot — a measure
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. game — wild animals
  22. capital — money
  23. roll — a cake
  24. roll — a list

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