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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. lean — thin
  3. capital — a city
  4. capital — money
  5. rash — hasty
  6. drill — army training
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. lean — to bend
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. march — the month
  14. rash — a series
  15. march — music
  16. drill — the tool
  17. cap — of ice
  18. march — the month
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. cap — a hat
  21. drill — a practice
  22. bark — to shout
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. rush — hurry

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