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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: fan · foot · last · drill · capital · rock · wake · mine

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. mine — for digging
  4. drill — the tool
  5. rock — a stone
  6. drill — a practice
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. capital — money
  10. last — finally
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. last — final
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. rock — music
  19. wake — a trail
  20. last — to go on
  21. drill — army training
  22. foot — a measure
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. fan — a supporter

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