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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: rash · drill · suit · can · plane · capital · clip · cold

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. capital — a city
  4. suit — to fit
  5. drill — army training
  6. plane — a tool
  7. can — to be able to
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. clip — a video
  10. suit — in cards
  11. cold — an illness
  12. can — a tin
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. clip — for paper
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. rash — a series
  17. can — a tin
  18. drill — a practice
  19. suit — clothes
  20. clip — to cut
  21. drill — the tool
  22. cold — not warm
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. capital — money

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