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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. spring — the season
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. drill — a practice
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. drill — the tool
  12. capital — money
  13. spring — of water
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. spring — a coil
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. cold — not warm
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. drill — army training
  22. cold — an illness
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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