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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: capital · net · pitcher · club · wound · pass · wax · arm

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. capital — money
  3. wound — an injury
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. net — in sport
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. club — a group
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. net — after costs
  12. pass — a permit
  13. club — for golf
  14. wax — to grow
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. club — for dancing
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. capital — a city
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. wound — an injury
  24. pitcher — a jug

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