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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 · drill · wind · stand · season · rest

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. wind — moving air
  4. stand — to bear
  5. season — of the year
  6. capital — money
  7. drill — a practice
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. rest — what's left
  10. rest — a break
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. rest — what's left
  13. capital — a city
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. drill — the tool
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. drill — army training
  18. season — in sport

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