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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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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 · tear · pound · wake · capital · march · ruler

  1. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — in a race
  2. capital — a city
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. tear — to rip
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. drill — the tool
  8. march — the month
  9. drill — a practice
  10. wake — a trail
  11. pit — a hole
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. march — the month
  14. pound — a weight
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. tear — from crying
  19. march — music
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. drill — army training
  22. capital — money
  23. ruler — a monarch
  24. tear — from crying

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