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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.

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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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. When will it ________________ you to start?
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. can — a tin
  3. can — a tin
  4. court — for sport
  5. suit — in cards
  6. mine — for digging
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. suit — to fit
  9. drill — a practice
  10. bore — to tire
  11. capital — money
  12. file — a tool
  13. drill — army training
  14. bore — to drill
  15. court — of a king
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. file — a line of people
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. capital — a city
  20. court — of law
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. can — to be able to
  23. suit — clothes
  24. file — a document

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