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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  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. band — a music group
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. bore — to drill
  4. band — a ring
  5. craft — a skill
  6. capital — a city
  7. drill — army training
  8. spell — magic
  9. march — the month
  10. march — music
  11. craft — boats
  12. capital — money
  13. drill — a practice
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. kick — in football
  16. spell — letters
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. march — the month
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. drill — the tool
  23. spell — a short time
  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