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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: capital · bear · march · land · drill · wind · stem · bore

  1. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. drill — army training
  4. wind — moving air
  5. march — the month
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. wind — moving air
  8. capital — money
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. march — the month
  11. drill — a practice
  12. stem — to come from
  13. bore — to drill
  14. capital — a city
  15. land — a country
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. bore — to tire
  18. land — to come down
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. drill — the tool
  21. land — ground
  22. bear — the animal
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. march — music

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