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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: season · stick · bowl · drill · capital · chair

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. chair — a leader
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. season — of the year
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. drill — the tool
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. capital — a city
  16. drill — a practice
  17. season — in sport
  18. drill — army training

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