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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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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: drill · club · capital · cold · staff · hide

  1. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. staff — a stick
  3. club — a group
  4. drill — the tool
  5. staff — employees
  6. cold — not warm
  7. club — for dancing
  8. capital — money
  9. drill — a practice
  10. drill — army training
  11. cold — an illness
  12. club — for golf
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. staff — employees
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. capital — a city
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. hide — to keep secret

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