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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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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 · band · racket · row · kick · cell · capital · wake

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. band — a ring
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. kick — in football
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. row — to paddle
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. cell — a phone
  16. wake — a trail
  17. capital — a city
  18. capital — money
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. band — a music group
  21. cell — in biology
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. row — a line

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