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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: pitcher · rest · capital · snap · pitch · calf · staff · last

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. capital — a city
  3. rest — a break
  4. snap — to click
  5. last — finally
  6. capital — money
  7. rest — what's left
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. last — to go on
  15. staff — employees
  16. staff — a stick
  17. staff — employees
  18. rest — what's left
  19. pitch — completely
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. last — final
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. calf — of the leg

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