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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. drill — a practice
  3. drill — army training
  4. craft — boats
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. press — a publisher
  9. cold — not warm
  10. club — a group
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. club — for golf
  14. sharp — clever
  15. club — for dancing
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. press — newspapers
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. cold — an illness
  20. capital — a city
  21. craft — a skill
  22. press — to push
  23. capital — money
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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