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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: nail · drill · capital · present · march · cell · fan · pitch

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. capital — money
  3. march — the month
  4. present — the time now
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. cell — a phone
  9. drill — the tool
  10. pitch — completely
  11. present — a gift
  12. drill — army training
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. march — the month
  19. march — music
  20. cell — in biology
  21. drill — a practice
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. capital — a city

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