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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 120 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: bass · rash · hand · march · capital · foot · court · pitcher

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. hand — in cards
  4. foot — a measure
  5. capital — a city
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. bass — low music
  8. rash — a series
  9. rash — hasty
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. march — music
  12. march — the month
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. capital — money
  15. hand — help
  16. court — of a king
  17. bass — the fish
  18. march — the month
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. court — of law
  21. court — for sport
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. foot — the bottom

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