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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: bat · saw · date · mark · capital · wind · lean · drill

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. drill — army training
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. bat — the animal
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. saw — the tool
  9. wind — moving air
  10. drill — the tool
  11. lean — thin
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. capital — money
  15. wind — moving air
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. mark — a trace
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. mark — a grade
  20. drill — a practice
  21. date — the fruit
  22. lean — to bend
  23. capital — a city
  24. saw — 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