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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: ground · chest · fan · capital · foot · drill · row · lie

  1. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  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. foot — part of the body
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. lie — to recline
  4. capital — a city
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. drill — army training
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. ground — the earth
  9. ground — crushed
  10. ground — a position
  11. capital — money
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. chest — of your body
  14. chest — a box
  15. row — a line
  16. foot — a measure
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. chest — of your body
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. drill — a practice
  23. row — to paddle
  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