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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: bay · racket · object · cue · cold · capital · pitcher · cap

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. cap — a hat
  3. cold — not warm
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. cue — a signal
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. cue — a hint
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. capital — money
  12. cap — a lid
  13. cold — an illness
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. capital — a city
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. cap — of ice
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. object — to protest
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. cue — for pool
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. object — an aim
  24. object — a thing

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