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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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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: leaves · bound · object · spring · capital · march · drill · straw

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. drill — a practice
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. spring — of water
  5. capital — money
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. bound — certain
  8. object — a thing
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. drill — the tool
  11. bound — tied together
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. march — music
  14. spring — the season
  15. march — the month
  16. object — to protest
  17. spring — a coil
  18. object — an aim
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. bound — obliged
  21. capital — a city
  22. march — the month
  23. drill — army training
  24. straw — a straw man

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