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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. When will it ________________ you to start?

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. suit — clothes
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. capital — money
  7. mine — for digging
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. last — to go on
  10. cue — a hint
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. capital — a city
  13. drill — a practice
  14. suit — in cards
  15. cue — for pool
  16. bat — the animal
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. cue — a signal
  19. wax — to grow
  20. last — final
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. drill — army training
  23. last — finally
  24. suit — to fit

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