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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 120 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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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 · drill · bear · pit · fork · fall · file · chair

  1. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. bear — the animal
  4. drill — army training
  5. capital — money
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. file — a line of people
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. fork — in a road
  11. bear — the animal
  12. pit — in a race
  13. capital — a city
  14. drill — a practice
  15. drill — the tool
  16. chair — a leader
  17. fall — to drop
  18. pit — a hole
  19. fall — the season
  20. fall — to drop
  21. file — a tool
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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