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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
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: scale · pitcher · mine · wake · calf · capital · lash · net

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. scale — in music
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. scale — size or range
  7. capital — money
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. net — for catching
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. mine — for digging
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. net — in sport
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. net — after costs
  21. wake — a trail
  22. capital — a city
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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