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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.

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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: ball · mine · capital · ground · bank · chip · pitcher · can

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. ball — a great time
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. mine — for digging
  7. ball — a dance
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. bank — of a river
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. can — a tin
  12. chip — for betting
  13. ground — crushed
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. capital — a city
  16. can — a tin
  17. capital — money
  18. bank — for money
  19. bank — for money
  20. can — to be able to
  21. ground — a position
  22. ground — the earth
  23. chip — to eat
  24. chip — in a computer

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