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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. drill — army training
  3. wound — an injury
  4. drill — a practice
  5. roll — a list
  6. shower — rain
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. roll — a cake
  10. ball — a dance
  11. drill — the tool
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. bore — to tire
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. pass — a permit
  16. ball — a great time
  17. capital — a city
  18. capital — money
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. wound — an injury
  21. bore — to drill
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. shower — to wash
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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