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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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. clip — to cut
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. capital — a city
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. drill — the tool
  8. clip — a video
  9. capital — money
  10. race — a contest
  11. season — in sport
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. race — humankind
  14. race — the arms race
  15. season — of the year
  16. clip — for paper
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. drill — a practice
  24. plane — a 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