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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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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: drill · racket · bay · mine · wake · march · tear · capital

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. drill — the tool
  4. wake — a trail
  5. tear — from crying
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. drill — army training
  9. mine — for digging
  10. capital — a city
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. march — the month
  13. capital — money
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. drill — a practice
  17. tear — from crying
  18. march — music
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. tear — to rip

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