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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: capital · stick · present · wind · roll · drill

  1. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. present — the time now
  3. roll — a list
  4. wind — moving air
  5. drill — the tool
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. roll — a cake
  8. drill — a practice
  9. drill — army training
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. capital — a city
  13. present — a gift
  14. present — there
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. wind — moving air
  18. capital — money

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