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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 116 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: rock · lash · drill · pass · capital · wake · cell · cue

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. cue — a hint
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. capital — a city
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. drill — the tool
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. cell — in biology
  12. pass — a permit
  13. cue — for pool
  14. cue — a signal
  15. wake — a trail
  16. rock — a stone
  17. cell — a phone
  18. capital — money
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. drill — a practice
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. drill — army training
  24. pass — to succeed

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