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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: bound · squash · season · last · capital · pitcher · row · firm

  1. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. firm — steady
  4. capital — money
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. bound — obliged
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. season — in sport
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. capital — a city
  12. season — of the year
  13. bound — tied together
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. last — to go on
  16. row — a line
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. last — finally
  19. squash — the sport
  20. firm — a company
  21. firm — decided
  22. squash — to crush
  23. row — to paddle
  24. last — final

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