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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
468
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: drill · court · spring · pop · rash · bore · capital · fall

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. drill — a practice
  3. drill — the tool
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. bore — to drill
  6. pop — to visit
  7. court — of a king
  8. bore — to tire
  9. spring — a coil
  10. rash — hasty
  11. court — of law
  12. spring — of water
  13. spring — the season
  14. fall — to drop
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. pop — music
  17. rash — a series
  18. capital — a city
  19. capital — money
  20. fall — the season
  21. drill — army training
  22. fall — to drop
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. court — for sport

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