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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 120 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: capital · mark · lash · mine · march · drill · lie · cell

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. march — the month
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. cell — a phone
  6. mark — a grade
  7. mark — a trace
  8. march — music
  9. drill — army training
  10. lie — to recline
  11. drill — a practice
  12. capital — a city
  13. capital — money
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. cell — in biology
  22. drill — the tool
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. march — the month

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