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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: bank · pitcher · cold · bound · cap · field · capital · lie

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. lie — to recline
  4. cap — a lid
  5. field — a subject
  6. bank — of a river
  7. bound — obliged
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. cold — an illness
  11. cap — of ice
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. capital — a city
  14. cap — a hat
  15. field — for sport
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. bound — certain
  18. cold — not warm
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. field — farmland
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. bound — tied together
  23. bank — for money
  24. bank — for money

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