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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: capital · bark · racket · swing · track · cold · can · drill

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. drill — army training
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. drill — a practice
  7. track — a path
  8. capital — money
  9. bark — to shout
  10. cold — an illness
  11. can — a tin
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. capital — a city
  14. swing — in golf
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. swing — to play on
  17. cold — not warm
  18. swing — music
  19. track — a song
  20. can — a tin
  21. can — to be able to
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. track — to keep track

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