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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  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. capital — a big letter
  2. drill — the tool
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. drill — army training
  6. capital — money
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. board — a committee
  11. capital — a city
  12. rash — hasty
  13. bore — to tire
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. file — a tool
  16. rash — a series
  17. drill — a practice
  18. board — to get on
  19. file — a line of people
  20. bore — to drill
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  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