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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 116 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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  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. rush — hurry
  2. capital — money
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. clip — a video
  5. clip — for paper
  6. bank — of a river
  7. plane — a tool
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. drill — a practice
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. bank — for money
  12. clip — to cut
  13. capital — a city
  14. bore — to drill
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. drill — the tool
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. bank — for money
  22. drill — army training
  23. rush — to hurry
  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