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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. season — of the year
  3. capital — money
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. drill — army training
  6. season — in sport
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. saw — the tool
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. bore — to tire
  15. saw — the tool
  16. drill — the tool
  17. land — a country
  18. drill — a practice
  19. last — final
  20. bore — to drill
  21. last — to go on
  22. land — to come down
  23. last — finally
  24. land — ground

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