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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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468
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: ground · capital · rule · game · roll · pitcher · craft · arm

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. ground — crushed
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. capital — a city
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. game — a match
  8. ground — a position
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. roll — a cake
  11. craft — a skill
  12. roll — a list
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. ground — the earth
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. capital — money
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. game — wild animals
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. rule — government
  22. craft — boats
  23. rule — a law
  24. rule — to rule out

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