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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: straw · cap · ground · suit · capital · wind · pitcher · face

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. When will it ________________ you to start?
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. face — part of the head
  3. ground — the earth
  4. capital — money
  5. face — to point toward
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. capital — a city
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. suit — to fit
  11. cap — a hat
  12. ground — a position
  13. cap — of ice
  14. ground — crushed
  15. cap — a lid
  16. face — to confront
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. suit — in cards
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. suit — clothes
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. wind — moving air

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