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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: pop · lash · plane · capital · wound · drill

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. pop — soda
  3. wound — an injury
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. drill — the tool
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. drill — army training
  10. capital — a city
  11. pop — music
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. wound — an injury
  16. drill — a practice
  17. capital — money
  18. plane — a tool

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