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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 120 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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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. tear — to rip
  4. land — ground
  5. land — to come down
  6. ball — a dance
  7. drill — army training
  8. bank — for money
  9. track — to keep track
  10. tear — from crying
  11. bank — for money
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. land — a country
  15. capital — a city
  16. prune — to trim
  17. drill — a practice
  18. capital — money
  19. track — a song
  20. prune — to trim
  21. bank — of a river
  22. track — a path
  23. ball — a great time
  24. tear — from crying

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