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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. rash — hasty
  3. rash — a series
  4. cap — of ice
  5. saw — the tool
  6. file — a tool
  7. bark — to shout
  8. drill — a practice
  9. capital — money
  10. capital — a city
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. file — a document
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. saw — the tool
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. file — a line of people
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. drill — army training
  22. cap — a lid
  23. cap — a hat
  24. drill — the tool

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