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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: cap · pitcher · last · bat · pop · fall · toast · capital

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. last — to go on
  3. capital — money
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. fall — the season
  6. last — final
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. toast — bread
  9. pop — music
  10. bat — the animal
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. fall — to drop
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. fall — to drop
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. pop — to visit
  17. last — finally
  18. cap — of ice
  19. pop — soda
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. cap — a hat
  23. capital — a city
  24. cap — a lid

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