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

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. march — music
  3. capital — a city
  4. suit — in cards
  5. pit — in a race
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. capital — money
  8. pit — a hole
  9. suit — to fit
  10. bass — low music
  11. squash — to crush
  12. bass — the fish
  13. march — the month
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. squash — the sport
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. drill — a practice
  21. march — the month
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. drill — army training
  24. suit — clothes

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