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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: squash · capital · hide · field · cue · march · prune · drill

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  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. drill — the tool
  2. field — farmland
  3. cue — for pool
  4. squash — to crush
  5. capital — money
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. capital — a city
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. squash — the sport
  10. cue — a hint
  11. cue — a signal
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. field — a subject
  14. march — music
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. prune — to trim
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. march — the month
  19. field — for sport
  20. prune — to trim
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. drill — a practice
  23. march — the month
  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