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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 soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. tube — the underground
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. last — final
  5. tube — a container
  6. current — happening now
  7. capital — money
  8. drill — a practice
  9. net — in sport
  10. drill — the tool
  11. last — finally
  12. net — for catching
  13. net — after costs
  14. hand — help
  15. hand — in cards
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. capital — a city
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. last — to go on
  22. current — of water
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. current — electric

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