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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. spell — letters
  3. mug — to rob
  4. shower — rain
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. drill — army training
  8. row — to paddle
  9. spell — a short time
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. kid — child
  12. capital — a city
  13. mug — a face
  14. shower — to wash
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. row — a line
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. drill — the tool
  20. spell — magic
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. capital — money
  23. mug — a cup
  24. kid — to tease

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