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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: drill · lash · fine · snap · mine · trunk · straw · capital

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. capital — a city
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. fine — all right
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. snap — to click
  9. fine — high quality
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. drill — the tool
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. drill — a practice
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. mine — for digging
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. drill — army training

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