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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: pitch · spell · scale · capital · cold · stand · season · drill

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. cold — an illness
  3. spell — magic
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. cold — not warm
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. drill — the tool
  9. scale — in music
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. stand — to bear
  12. season — of the year
  13. drill — a practice
  14. scale — size or range
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. season — in sport
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. capital — a city
  20. capital — money
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. pitch — completely
  23. spell — letters
  24. spell — a short time

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