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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 120 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 soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. scale — size or range
  3. scale — in music
  4. capital — a city
  5. land — to come down
  6. bound — obliged
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. capital — money
  10. pitch — completely
  11. bat — the animal
  12. bound — tied together
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. land — a country
  16. cell — in biology
  17. drill — a practice
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. bound — certain
  21. land — ground
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. drill — the tool
  24. cell — a phone

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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