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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: chip · cue · bat · perch · capital · pit · drill · wound

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. drill — army training
  3. capital — a city
  4. cue — a hint
  5. bat — the animal
  6. chip — for betting
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. drill — a practice
  9. wound — an injury
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. cue — for pool
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. wound — an injury
  15. pit — a hole
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. perch — the fish
  18. capital — money
  19. pit — in a race
  20. chip — to eat
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. cue — a signal
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. drill — the tool

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