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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. spell — letters
  3. bear — the animal
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. drill — army training
  6. bore — to tire
  7. spell — magic
  8. land — to come down
  9. capital — money
  10. drill — a practice
  11. rush — hurry
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. rock — a stone
  14. spell — a short time
  15. land — ground
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. rock — music
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. land — a country
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. drill — the tool
  22. bore — to drill
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. bear — the animal

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