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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 · arm · capital · hand · coach · last · lean · craft

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. capital — a city
  5. lean — thin
  6. last — finally
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. hand — in cards
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. last — final
  13. hand — help
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. capital — money
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. craft — boats
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. craft — a skill
  24. last — to go on

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