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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: sharp · pitcher · cap · date · arm · capital · nail · wake

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. cap — of ice
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. cap — a lid
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. date — the fruit
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. wake — a trail
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. sharp — clever
  18. cap — a hat
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. capital — money
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. pitcher — a jug

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