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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 · leaves · spring · club · fine · cap · fan · drill

  1. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. spring — of water
  3. club — for golf
  4. cap — a hat
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. cap — a lid
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. club — for dancing
  9. capital — a city
  10. fine — high quality
  11. drill — the tool
  12. capital — money
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. spring — the season
  15. fine — all right
  16. cap — of ice
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. club — a group
  21. drill — a practice
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. drill — army training
  24. spring — a coil

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