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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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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: present · capital · drill · bat · nail · squash · arm · wound

  1. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. wound — an injury
  4. wound — an injury
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. capital — a city
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. capital — money
  11. drill — a practice
  12. squash — the sport
  13. bat — the animal
  14. squash — to crush
  15. present — the time now
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. present — a gift
  18. drill — the tool
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. drill — army training
  23. present — there
  24. bat — for baseball

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