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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: drill · pit · spell · tube · bark · capital · coach · ground

  1. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. tube — a container
  4. spell — a short time
  5. drill — army training
  6. ground — a position
  7. capital — money
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. tube — the underground
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. pit — in a race
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. spell — magic
  16. ground — crushed
  17. ground — the earth
  18. spell — letters
  19. bark — to shout
  20. drill — the tool
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. drill — a practice
  23. capital — a city
  24. tube — in a tire

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