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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: drill · kid · nail · fan · spring · capital · deal · bank

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. kid — to tease
  3. kid — child
  4. spring — the season
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. drill — a practice
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. deal — to handle
  11. bank — for money
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. capital — money
  15. spring — of water
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. bank — of a river
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. drill — army training
  21. bank — for money
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. spring — a coil
  24. drill — the tool

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