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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 116 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.

Make a worksheet

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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. drill — a practice
  6. rush — hurry
  7. capital — a city
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. clip — to cut
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. clip — for paper
  12. capital — money
  13. plane — a tool
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. drill — the tool
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. clip — a video

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