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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: pit · drill · capital · snap · bark · mouse · stick · spell

  1. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. spell — magic
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. capital — a city
  7. drill — a practice
  8. spell — a short time
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. bark — to shout
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. pit — in a race
  14. capital — money
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. spell — letters
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. drill — the tool
  23. drill — army training
  24. snap — to click

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