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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: capital · race · rash · drill · track · scale · lie · row

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. drill — army training
  3. row — to paddle
  4. drill — a practice
  5. drill — the tool
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. race — the arms race
  9. scale — in music
  10. race — humankind
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. row — a line
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. track — a song
  15. track — a path
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. scale — size or range
  18. lie — to recline
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. track — to keep track
  21. race — a contest
  22. rash — a series
  23. capital — money
  24. capital — a city

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