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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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. drill — the tool
  3. cap — a lid
  4. face — to point toward
  5. capital — a city
  6. track — a song
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. track — a path
  9. clip — to cut
  10. drill — a practice
  11. track — to keep track
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. cap — a hat
  14. bound — tied together
  15. cap — of ice
  16. face — part of the head
  17. drill — army training
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. clip — for paper
  20. clip — a video
  21. capital — money
  22. face — to confront
  23. bound — certain
  24. bound — obliged

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