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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. capital — a city
  3. swing — to play on
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. cap — a hat
  6. swing — music
  7. drill — a practice
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. drill — army training
  10. swing — in golf
  11. wake — a trail
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. vault — a safe
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. drill — the tool
  22. cap — a lid
  23. cap — of ice
  24. capital — money

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