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

Word bank: lie · capital · cell · pit · cabinet · drill

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. drill — the tool
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. capital — a city
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. cell — a phone
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. pit — a hole
  11. pit — in a race
  12. drill — a practice
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. lie — to recline
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. drill — army training
  18. cell — in biology

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