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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. pit — in a race
  4. capital — a city
  5. capital — money
  6. swing — music
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. swing — to play on
  9. kid — to tease
  10. swing — in golf
  11. drill — the tool
  12. drill — a practice
  13. mine — for digging
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. mark — a trace
  16. mark — a grade
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. drill — army training
  19. kid — child
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. pit — a hole
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. mine — an explosive

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