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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. drill — army training
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. ground — crushed
  6. fall — to drop
  7. capital — money
  8. squash — the sport
  9. fall — the season
  10. squash — to crush
  11. fall — to drop
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. capital — a city
  14. charge — electricity
  15. ground — the earth
  16. charge — a price
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. drill — a practice
  19. ground — a position
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. charge — in control
  22. drill — the tool
  23. rush — hurry
  24. fork — in a road

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