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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 soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. bass — low music
  3. wake — a trail
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. drill — the tool
  6. bore — to drill
  7. capital — a city
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. snap — to click
  10. capital — money
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. drill — a practice
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. bass — the fish
  18. court — of law
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. mine — for digging
  22. court — of a king
  23. court — for sport
  24. bore — to tire

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